


It Is Much Too Late For Us

by lukey_irwie



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Haloween (kind of), M/M, Supernatural Elements, Time Travel, and i love daylight, and i love using song lyrics as titles bc they sound poetic and shit, i think thats all, it just sounded ominous okay, the title is from daylight even though the song has nothing to do with the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 04:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3556523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukey_irwie/pseuds/lukey_irwie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke, Ashton, Calum and Michael are bored on Halloween night. Michael suggests the great (or not so great idea) to explore an abandoned mental asylum. Of course Luke and Ashton think it's a bad idea, bc they're the smart ones, but Luke agrees any way so Michael won't tease him about being scared for the rest of their lives. When they get to the Asylum Luke feels weird and keeps seeing a little boy but he ignores it. Eventually he cant take it any more and approaches the boy and there is a flash of green light and that's all I'm gonna say.</p><p>Or the one where they explore an abandoned Asylum, shit happens, Luke gets 'lost' and Ashton almost goes crazy trying to find him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Is Much Too Late For Us

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the one shot I wrote for Halloween this year, although it's not strictly Halloween so you can read it anytime. I hope you enjoy it, bc I worked really hard on this and I'm happy with it. Also thank you for all the reads and Kudos on the one shot I posted yesterday. It means a lot. And comments are always appreciated too (*coughcough*).

"This is so boring, this move isn't even scary at all" Michael complains.

  
It's Halloween night and Michael, Calum, Luke and Ashton are just watching movies because yes, they're that lame.

  
Last year they tried to trick or treat but  _well_  that didn't really work out. The people handing out candy didn't really appreciate four teenage boys over 6ft knocking on their door and most of them would just shut the door in their face. They also ended up scaring most of the little kids so they decided to go back home because they didn't want to ruin Halloween for the little kids or anything.

  
They also didn't feel like going to a lame party and it wasn't just because they weren't invited. Okay maybe it kind of was but they didn't need those people who didn't invite them. They could have just as much, in fact more fun just the four of them than they would with anyone else. At least that's what Michael said. And according to Ashton, who's finished high school and is now in college 'they don't need lame high school parties'. It alsototally doesn't have to do with fact that Liz wouldn't allow them to go.

  
So that's how they ended up spending their Halloween night just watching horror movies , _rather bad one_ s, in Luke's basement.

  
"I think Luke would say other wise" Calum laughs gesturing to where Luke is clinging onto Ashton and has his face buried in Ashton's chest.

  
"Yeah but that's  _Luke_  everything scares him, he's the biggest pu-" Michael starts but is cut off by Ashton.

  
"Hey!" Ashton exclaims "there's nothing wrong with him being scared and would both of you shut up, I'm trying to watch the movie!"

  
"No because it's boring!" Calum exclaims "it's Halloween we should be doing something fun!"

  
"Like what?" Ashton asks.

  
"Well I don't know something better than watching movies!" Michael exclaims.

  
"This was  _your_  idea dipshit, we could've went to a party but you -thought this would be better so you think of something!" Calum exclaims.

  
"We could go explore that abandoned Asylum, unless Luke's too scared" Michael says.

  
"I'm not scared!" Luke protests finally removing his head from Ashton's chest after what has at least been half an hour. "I was just bored"

  
"Yeah okay sure Luke,  _I believe you_." Michael says sarcastically.

  
"Well it's true" Luke mutters.

  
"So if you're not scared then you'll be fine exploring the abandoned asylum?" Michael asks.

  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa we never said we were doing that" Ashton says.

  
"Yeah I don't really think that's a good idea" Luke says "have you  _heard_  the stories about that place?"

  
"Yeah, and they're probably not true at all" Michael says "there's no such thing as  _ghosts_. It'll just be fun to explore the place, nothing'll actually happen. It'll be  _fun_  why are you such wimps?"

  
"We're not wimps we're just smart" Ashton says.

  
"I think it would be kinda fun" Calum says.

  
"Yeah that's only because you agree with everything Michael says." Luke mutters.

  
"You're the same with Ashton, and Calum and I are going so if you two don't go and something happens to us you'll have to live with the guilt forever" Michael says.

  
"I thought you said nothing would happen?" Luke retorts.

  
"It won't but if it did you two would have to live with it for the rest of your lives" Michael says.

  
"If nothing'll happen then why would we leave the comfort of my house to go run around some old place?" Luke argues.

  
"Because  _anything_  is better than this and like I said Calum and I are going so you two can decided whether you're joining or not" Michael says "and don't act like the reason you don't want to isn't because you're scared".

  
"I'm not scared!" Luke protests.

  
"Then prove it by going to the Asylum with us" Michael says and Luke knows that whatever will happen in the asylum won't be nearly as bad as Michael teasing him for the rest of his life if he doesn't go.

  
"Fine" Luke sighs defeatedly "you coming, Ash?"

  
"Of course" Ashton says " I wouldn't make my Lukey go to some creepy place with just Michael and Calum"

  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don't trust us?!" Calum exclaims.

  
"Not with Luke in a haunted building. You'll probably end up making out and then Luke'll get snatched by some ghost" Ashton says.

  
"Wow that's really reassuring" Luke retorts.

  
"Well if I'm with you that won't happen, I'll protect you Lukey, I always will" Ashton says and Michael and Calum making gagging noises.

  
"Now you know how Luke and I feel whenever you two make out" Ashton says.

  
"Well if we're going then we'll need supplies, Calum and I will go back to my place and get some and you guys stay here and find some. We'll meet you back here in an hour " Michael says.

  
Once Calum and Michael have left Ashton turns to Luke.

  
"What do you think we'll even need for supplies?" Ashton asks.

  
"Food" Luke says simply.

  
"You think you'll have time to eat in there?" Ashton laughs.

  
"Well if we get stranded or something we're going to want food" Luke says "and water"

  
"Okay and what else?" Ashton asks.

  
"I don't know, flashlights? A change of clothes in case-" Luke starts but Ashton cuts him off.

  
"In case what, Luke? Are you implying that I'm going to shit myself?" Ashton teases.

  
"Maybe" Luke retorts.

  
"Well it's nice to know you have so much faith in me" Ashton laughs "What else do you think we'll need?".

  
"I don't know I'm not a ghost hunter" Luke says "rope or something?"

  
"Oh yes because we want the ghosts to have something to hang us with" Ashton retorts.

  
"Well don't people use it so like they don't get lost or something?" Luke asks.

  
"It's not a labyrinth, Luke" Ashton retorts.

  
"You don't know that" Luke argues and okay, Ashton has to admit he does have a point.

  
"What else?" Ashton asks.

  
"I don't know? Why don't you think of something?" Luke says "you're worse than a five year old!"

  
"Wow okay, there's no need to be rude, Luke, maybe I'll sacrifice you to the ghosts" Ashton mutters.

  
"I thought you said you'd protect me?" Luke teases " you always will"

  
"Well I lied" Ashton quips.

  
"Maybe I'll sacrifice you too" Luke mutters.

  
"Too?" Ashton asks "How will you sacrifice me while you-"

  
"Oh shut up" Luke says cutting Ashton off.

  
"Make me" Ashton winks.

  
"Gladly" Luke retorts pressing his lips to Ashton's.

  
After a few minutes Luke pulls away laughing.

  
"What?" Ashton asks "I'm an amazing kisser and you know it. What's so funny?

  
"No it's just it's totally something Michael and Calum would do" Luke replies.

  
"Yeah well this might be our last chance for this" Ashton says pushing Luke against a wall before pressing their lips together.  
\---  
Just as Michael had said he and Calum return to Luke's house in an hour with two giant backpacks with god only knows what's in them.

"What do you even have in there?" Ashton asks.

"I'm glad you asked" Michael says unzipping his backpack and Ashton suddenly regrets ever asking.

"Well first off we have food and drinks obviously" Michael says pulling out two bags of Doritos and some cokes.

Luke and Ashton decide not to comment on the fact that that's probably not the the best food and drinks to bring on a ghost hunt because that'll only result in Michael claiming that they're wrong and that he's a certified ghost hunter. At least that's what he likes to think. Besides what person would say no to Doritos?

"And then we've got sleeping bags" Michael says pulling out a dark green sleeping bag.

  
"Why would you bring a sleeping bag? Who's gonna sleep while ghost hunting? Wouldn't that just open you up to possession or something?" Ashton asks.

  
"Well that's why we'll have someone watch dumbass" Michael says "and we might not even sleep but who knows how long we'll be there, if you do get tired you'll be thankful I brought comfortable sleeping bags".

  
"I thought were just going for the night?" Luke asks.

  
"Yeah well we might decide to stay longer and better safe then sorry" Michael says and Luke and Ashton shake their heads as Michael pulls out the next thing, which is a first aid kit.

  
"This is pretty self explanatory" Michael says before pulling out a package of candles and some matches that he claims are for if they 'want to conduct a seance'.

  
He also pulls out an ouija board, some flashlights and batteries, a tape recorder, a camera, a pen and notepad, a map of the asylum, a change of clothes and a rope which he claims are to help them get into hard to reach places. He also pulls out walkie talkies which he claims are for if they want to 'split up' which Ashton and Luke think is a bad idea because has Michael ever seen a horror movie? Of course he has, so why would he ever think splitting up would be a good idea?The final items he pulls out are two books, the first called 'ghost hunting 101' and another on the legends of Australia, which has a chapter on the asylum.

  
Once Michael has finished putting everything in his bag they put all their bags in Ashton's trunk before going back in to tell Liz they're going. As Michael's book says they should always tell someone if they're going ghost hunting in case of emergency.

  
They also don't want her to freak out if she finds out they aren't there and then ground Luke the next morning assuming they went to some party.

  
Ashton is driving because not only is it  _his_  car but he's the only one who can actually drive despite the fast they're all over sixteen.

  
Calum and Michael claim they don't need to learn to learn how to drive yet because 'Ashton can always take them'. Luke doesn't have his because Ashton quite likes driving Luke around and he totally isn't preventing Luke from getting his own licence because of it. Okay maybe he is but it's also Liz's fault because she doesn't want Luke to drive yet because she's even more protective of him than Ashton is.

  
Liz probably wasn't the best person to ask however and they wish Andy wasn't at work because it would just be so much easier to ask him instead. It takes at least fifteen minutes and a lot of pleading for them to convince her to let them go.

  
"Mum can I ask you something?" Luke asks going up to his mum who is reading some mystery novel in the living room.

  
"Of course honey, you can ask me anything, unless you'd like to go to a party in which case the answer is no, and don't even think about sneaking off" Liz says and Luke swears to himself, mentally of course.

  
He knows not to swear in front of Liz unless he wants to face the consequences. The worst of which was Luke not being able to see Ashton outside of school for a week.

  
_What?_  Luke isn't too dependant on Ashton, okay maybe he is but all four of them are really close and some people might think that's problematic but they don't at all. Since when did caring about your friends and wanting to see them become a bad thing? Besides Luke had just started dating Ashton then and his punishment had got extended to a month of not being able to see Ashton and Calum or Michael too, when Liz caught the three of them trying to sneak Luke out.

  
It's safe to say that was the worst month of his life, the family can only take so many family monopoly games before someone goes crazy. One time Jack ended up throwing the board at Luke and accused him of cheating, which Luke wasn't at all,  _really_. He just happened to use the fact he was the banker to his advantage.

  
"Well um-um we-we were thinking" Luke stutters looking over at his friends for help because, how is he supposed to ask? If Liz doesn't even let Luke go to parties how would she ever let them go ghost hunting?

  
"Were wondering if we could go explore the old asylum." Michael interjects.

  
"Now tell me, Michael. Why would I ever let you take my son to a place that is not only rumoured to be haunted but is also dangerous for a number of other reasons in the middle of the night?" Liz asks.

  
"Because you love and trust us?" Michael pleads hopefully and Liz scoffs.

  
"The only time Luke has ever gotten into trouble was because of you three" Liz says gesturing to Michael, Calum and Ashton.

  
"Yeah but we always made sure he was safe and he's never gotten hurt when he was with us. Unless you count him tripping over his own feet which really we can't prevent at all" Michael says earning a 'hey!' from Luke.

  
"Well I can't deny that" Liz says.

  
"I expected it from Michael but not you too mum!" Luke exclaims.

  
"Oh honey it's no secret you're clumsy, you always have been. I remember when-' Liz starts but Luke cuts her off.

  
"So can we go ghost hunting or not?" He asks successfully diverting Liz's attention because there's no way Luke will ever let Michael hear that story. It was bad enough when Ashton found out and Luke knows Michael would be a million times worse.

  
"Of course not" Liz says.

  
"But please we'll be really responsible, I have a book on ghost hunting and we have all the necessary supplies and we're old enough to take care of ourselv-" Michael cuts himself off when he realizes that's probably not the best thing to say as Liz gives him an 'oh really' look.

  
Ashton decides to step in because Michael is only making it worse and Ashton knows he's her favourite out of the three. He's not trying to brag or anything it's just a fact and he knows how it feels to be on both ends of the spectrum. He was Liz's least favourite when he started dating Luke and that only grew when she caught him trying to sneak Luke out. Over time she realized how happy Ashton makes Luke and vice versa and that Ashton would die before he ever hurt Luke or let anyone else hurt him, she started to like him again. Now it's as if she likes him even more than Luke sometimes.

  
"What Michael is trying to say is that we'll be cautious and make sure nothing goes wrong. I'll protect Luke at all costs, we all will and if anything does happen you have permission to execute us all in whatever way you deem fit-" Ashton says and Michael tries to protest at the last part but Luke kicks him and he decides to keep his mouth shut.

  
Luke should write this on a calendar or something because Michael Clifford never shuts up.

  
Ashton can tell by the way Liz hesitates that he's getting to her and he's rather surprised when Liz just simply says no and she must notice it by the look of shock on his face.

  
"It's not that I don't trust you Ashton, you know I do. It's just this isn't something as simple as a party or going to some nearby town for the day. This could be potentially really dangerous and I don't want anyone of you to get hurt. There's too many things that could go wrong with this even if you do take the necessary precautions. While I don't believe in ghosts or anything of the paranormal it's still too dangerous. You'll be in the middle of nowhere, who's to say you won't be alone? Do you know many creeps probably hang around that place waiting for unsuspecting teenagers, especially on Halloween night? Not to mention that place hasn't been cleaned since it shut down, who knows what kind of contaminates you'd be exposing yourselves too. I'm sorry boys but I can't let you go, it's way too dangerous" Liz says.

  
"What if we wore gloves and those masks they have at hospitals?" Calum says speaking up for the first time "I know mum has some extra ones from the hospital lying around somewhere. We can stop back at my place on the way and get some and we can also tell my mum so that way two people know we're going. We could even call Michael and Ashton's mums too"

  
"You promise you'll be safe and will call either one of us every hour and answer if we call you?" Liz asks.

  
"Of course" all four boys say in unison.

  
"You have snacks and a first aid kit and everything?" Liz asks.

  
"Yes" the four boys say.

  
"You won't do anything stupid like mess around with an ouija board or try a seance?" Liz asks looking at Michael.

  
"I thought you said you didn't believe in the paranormal?" Michael tries smiling innocently.

  
" _Michael_ " Liz says pointedly.

  
"Fine I'll go take the stuff out of my bag" Michael sighs.

  
"I want to see it" Liz says.

  
"Of course" Michael says glad Calum packed the same supplies as him as Liz thinks that Calum is innocent because he doesn't say much.

  
It's rather ironic really because Michael knows that's far from the truth and usually Liz notices things like that, but he's grateful she doesn't. Calum is usually the only way they can get away with things like this.

  
"If it's fine with the rest of your mothers than yes" Liz says.

  
"Thank you Liz! You're the best, I could kiss you right now!" Michael exclaims earning a glare from Luke.

  
"B-b-but I wouldn't of course" Michael stutters actually fearing for his life, no ghost in the world can compare to Luke's death stare.

  
In fact the only thing scarier is Liz's death glare which everyone knows is where Luke inherited his from.

  
"Thank you Mrs. Hemmings" Calum says sweetly, hugging Liz and making her practically melt with adoration.

  
Calum winks at Michael over Liz's shoulder and Michael has to admit Calum is way smarter than he gives him credit for. He's basically an evil genius and has Liz wrapped around his finger.

  
"Thank you Liz" Ashton says hugging Liz once Calum's done and kissing her on the cheek.

  
"Take care of him, and Michael and Calum too, and of course of yourself" Liz whispers.

  
"Of course I will" Ashton promises pulling away.

  
"Well, come give your mother a hug" Liz says to Luke "don't even think for a second that I'm going to let you leave without giving me one"

  
"I sorry mommy and thank you" Luke says hugging Liz, he hears snickering which he knows is Michael and gives him the finger behind Liz's back.

  
"You'll be careful and answer all my calls?" Liz asks pulling away.

  
"I will mum but please don't call every five minutes, it could disrupt the ghosts. If we have to call every hour than you should too" Luke says.

  
"Are you giving me orders?" Liz says sternly, she's not actually mad or anything she just thinks it's funny to see Luke sputter.

  
"No mum I was just- you could call every half an hour" Luke suggests.

  
"I'm just kidding, honey and every forty-five minutes sounds good to me" Liz says.

  
"Thank you, mum" Luke says.

  
You're welcome sweety" Liz says "now go have fun and be careful"

  
"Of course I will mum" Luke says trying to get away but Liz pulls him back down and kisses him on the cheek.

  
"Bye now sweety" Liz says letting Luke go and he takes his only chance to escape.

  
"Bye mum" Luke says following the other three boys to the front hall. Michael and Calum are snickering the whole time and Luke doesn't know why but it's  _Michael and_   _Calum_ , he isn't surprised at all.

  
"What's so funny?" Luke asks putting his converse on and of course Michael and Calum are too busy laughing and Ashton has to be the one to answer him, of course.

  
"You've got a bit of lipstick" Ashton giggles touching Luke's cheek where the lipstick was and wiping it away" but it's gone now"

  
That doesn't stop Michael and Calum from laughing however.

  
"What?! It's gone now! So what's so funny?!" Luke exclaims.

  
"Oh we're the over lipstick now" Michael says "We're laughing at what Calum said"

  
"What did Calum say?!" Luke demands.

  
"Whoa calm down there Princess, he just said that's the first time that's ever happened to you" Michael says. "No need to be so defensive"

  
"Well that's a stupid joke, of course it is. You know I'm gay and Ashton doesn't wear lipstick" Luke says.

  
"So you do then" Michael says "I always knew you were a bottom"

  
Luke opens his mouth to protest but Michael cuts him off.

  
"Oh don't act like you two aren't into some kinky shit, unless" Michael says the last word as if he just won the lottery "unless you're still a-"

  
"That's none of your business!" Ashton grumbles wrapping his arm protectively around Luke as if to shield him from Michael.

  
"Jeez okay damn" Michael says "you two should really be more open about these things with us, like Calum and I are"

  
"Oh god no" Luke shivers "you'll probably get voted for the most obnoxious couple at graduation this year"

  
"Well I see that as an accomplishment" Michael retorts "and I call shotgun" he adds before running out the door.

  
Michael ran  _and_  he shut up, this really is a day to mark down.

  
Once the other three boys reach the car Ashton manages to convince Michael to sit in the back claiming he won't be able to make out with Calum if he's in the front and Michael instantly shuts up and goes to the back. Once Michael finishes showing Liz that he took the Ouija board and seance equipment out of his bag Ashton finally pulls out of Luke's driveway.  
\---  
"Okay I've got them let's go, we've wasted enough time already" Calum says climbing into the backseat and tossing the bag with the masks and gloves onto the surface behind the back seats.

  
"Hey, put those in the trunk I need to see out the back" Ashton says.

  
"Ugh fine" Calum groans.

  
He pulls down the middle seat so he has access to the trunk and tosses the bag in before putting the seat back up. He's not wasting anymore time getting out of the car if he doesn't have to.

  
"You know how to get there, right?" Michael asks once everyone is finally situated and Ashton pulls out of Calum's driveway, making Ashton rolls his eyes. Michael always asks this even if they're just going to the McDonalds down the street.

  
"Of course I do" Ashton grumbles "it's just off of the highway on Aradale Lane".

  
"Jeez okay I was just asking a simple question" Michael grumbles pulling out his ghost hunting book "no need to be so rude"

  
The car ride is only about thirty minutes but with Michael constantly reading things from his book it seems like hours, and it's only been fifteen minutes.

  
It's when Michael tells them a tip that long hair should be tied up so it doesn't tamper with any photographs, despite the fact none of them have long hair, that Luke breaks.

  
"Would you shut the fuck up? If you don't I swear to God I'll leave you at the Asylum forever! And give me those!" He says snatching the books out of Michael's hands.

  
"Hey! What the fuck?! I was reading those!" Michael sputters making grabbing motions for the books but he can't reach.

  
"Well too bad" Luke says "I want to read them now"

  
"Well that's why I was reading out loud, so everyone could hear" Michael says.

  
"Yeah well your audiobook sucks" Luke retorts making Ashton and Calum laugh.

  
"Wait,I don't have an audiobook? What?" Michael asks confused.

  
"I'm not explaining the joke to you, I guess you're just too stupid to get it" Luke says.

  
"I'm not stupid!" Michael exclaims "you are! And so is your joke!"

  
"I thought it was funny" Ashton says.

  
"Yeah, well you're biased because you're in love with him, I bet Calum thought otherwise, didn't you?" Michael asks looking at Calum.

  
"I don't know I thought it was kind of funny" Calum admits.

  
"Even Calum's sick of your bullshit Michael" Luke quips.

  
"What the hell Luke?!" Michael sputters "why are you being so mean?"

  
"Because you're being annoying" Luke retorts.

  
"Ashton!" Michael exclaims "Tell your boyfriend to stop being so mean to me!"

  
"Why? You kinda deserve it" Ashton says.

  
"No I don't, you don't think I'm being annoying, do you Calum?" Michael asks.

  
"Well" Calum says his voice getting increasingly higher.

  
"Callie?! What the hell?! Is this gang up on Michael day or something?!" Michael exclaims.

  
"Well if you don't fucking stop calling me that it will be" Calum growls.

  
"Wow Jeez okay, you're all way worse than any ghosts could ever be" Michael grumbles.  
\---  
"We're here" Ashton says pulling up in the front of the Asylum "where am I supposed to park? Should I just go into the driveway or park somewhere down the street? I don't want anything to happen to the car".

  
"Yeah you probably should park down the street, just to be safe" Luke says.

  
"Ugh you mean I'll have to walk more then nessescary?" Michael groans.

  
"It's better than walking all the way back home or calling our mums who are worried enough to pick us up, stop whining" Luke says.

  
"I'm not whining I'm just stating my opinion" Michael grumbles.

  
"Yeah well do it less obnoxiously" Luke retorts as Ashton stops down the street a bit and Michael is actually the last one to get out.

  
"You scared?" Luke quips.

  
"No I was just-" Michael's starts but Luke cuts him off.

  
"You're scared" Luke says.

  
"No I'm not scared at all you don't know what you're talking about, Luke. If anyone is going to be scared it's you, you couldn't even watch those movies without cowering in Ashton's arms" Michael says.

  
"I already told you I was bored" Luke grumbles.

  
"And I already told you I didn't believe you" Michael quips.

  
"First one to scream owes everyone else twenty bucks each" Luke says.

  
"Well I'm about to get twenty bucks richer, thank you Luke" Michael says.

  
"You mean you're about to get sixty bucks poorer" Luke retorts grabbing his bag from the trunk before taking out a flashlight and turning it on and Michael does the same.

  
"I'm glad your mum made me take out all that stuff" Michael says "My bag is so much lighter now"   
"Yeah and now I get the heavy one" Calum growls "fuck you!"

  
"Later. Maybe we'll give the ghosts a little show" Michael says and this time even Calum groans.

  
"Even I have to admit that was gross" Calum says.

  
Ashton looks down as he feels a warm hand grab his and smiles down and his and Luke's intertwined hands before looking up at Luke. When he does Luke looks rather tired and he doesn't know if he's tired of Michael or if he's actually psychically tired but either way he looks adorable.

  
"You tired, babe?" Ashton asks fondly.

  
"Kind of" Luke admits.

  
"Don't listen to him he's just using that as an excuse to go so we can leave because he's scared " Michael says but Ashton ignores him.

  
"We can do this another night if you want to" Ashton suggests.

  
"No it's fine, I'm sure I'll be able to stay awake." Luke says.

  
"You want a coke?" Michael asks worriedly noticing how tired Luke actually looks and suddenly feeling bad for being so insensitive.

  
"Sure" Luke says and Michael gets one out of his bag and hands it to Luke.

  
"Thanks" Luke says taking the coke and opening it before having a drink. The cool liquid wakes him up a little bit not much. Luke doesn't know why he got so tired all of a sudden he wasn't in the car but he doesn't think much of it. Ashton however is basically having a panic attack.

  
"Lukey, are you sure you're, okay? We can come back when you're well- rested. Don't strain yourself or anything" Ashton says.

  
"Really Ash I'm fine, we're almost there so why go back now? I want to do this" Luke says.

  
"Well if you insist" Ashton says defeatedly "Just don't leave my side, okay?"

  
"Why would I?" Luke says.

  
"Well I don't know but still, don't even let go of me okay?" Ashton asks.

  
"Okay Ash I won't, but you don't need to worry so much I'm just tired and it's late so it makes sense that I would be" Luke says.

  
"I guess you're right" Ashton says "I just don't want anything to happen to you. I'd never be able to live with myself if anything did."

  
"Ash, stop for a second" Luke says and at first Ashton thinks he just means to stop talking so he continues walking until he feel his hand being pulled back and realize Luke isn't walking with him. Michael and Calum notice that Ashton and Luke have stopped walking and they stop as well. Luke hands the coke to Michael not wanting it to get in the way or spill it.

  
"I'll be fine, okay?" Luke says brushing a stray curl away from Ashton's face and cupping Ashton's face in his hands.

  
"But what if you're not?" Ashton asks as tears start to form and Luke wipes them away with his thumb.  
"I'll have you with me and you're always good at making sure nothing happens to me and Michael and Calum are here too. Not to mention I can take care of myself and if I really feel like I can't continue then I'll tell you. Right now I don't feel like that though and I want to continue. As long you're with me I'll be fine." Luke says before pressing his lips to Ashton's.

  
Ashton kisses back eagerly and wraps his arms around Luke's waist pulling the younger boy impossibly closer because he feels like if he doesn't Luke is going to disappear or something. He's knows he's being irrational but when Luke is kissing him like that Ashton can't bring himself to care. When Luke pulls away Ashton has to hold in a whine, which is weird because usually it's the other way around and usually it's Ashton who's reassuring Luke.

  
"I'll be fine" Luke whispers kissing Ashton again but this time it's quick and Ashton doesn't even have time to kiss back.

  
"C'mon, let's not keep Michael and Calum waiting any longer" Luke says.

  
"Yeah, okay" Ashton says reluctantly before wrapping his arm around Luke's waist and pulling him into his side. While it might not be the most efficient way of walking at least Ashton knows that Luke is there and that he's  _safe_.

  
After a few minutes of walking they reach the Asylum and Ashton has to admit it's rather creepy, even Michael isn't hiding the fact that he's scared.

  
The large white building almost glows in dark, kind of looking like a ghost itself. It seems to be split into three main parts and just the structure of the building alone and the blackened windows make it look creepy. There are two structures at the top of the outer buildings, which when the asylum was still running probably contained guards who made sure no patients escaped. The building looks more like a prison than a hospital although Asylums kind of were prisons, maybe even worse.

  
How many prisons tested on inmates and performed horrific procedures? Notorious criminals like Al Capone could even pay to make sure their cells were comfortable,  _luxurious_  even. Asylums were definitely worse than prisons. They treated the patients like animals and performed horrific 'treatments' just because they had mental illnesses. There were  _children_  in Asylums even.

  
The road leading up to the asylum is all cracked and there are broken beer bottles and nails and other various objects lying around and the four boys have to point their flashlights at the ground, careful not to step on anything sharp. The beer bottles are probably just from drunken teenagers who think it's cool to throw parties here they tell themselves. Surely Luke's mum isn't right and there aren't any creeps who just like to hang around here waiting for unsuspecting victims.

  
There's a large cobblestone circle which the boys assume used to be a garden at one point but now it's just a pit of dirt with dead plants and various objects lying in it. Luke stops when he notices that one of those objects is a picture frame and has a picture of a small blonde boy who looks strangely familiar.

  
"What is it?" Ashton asks worriedly "Do you want to go back now?"

  
"No we can stay it's just that boy seems strangely familiar" Luke says pointing to the picture.

  
"I don't think he does but he looks like he can't be any older than ten. I really hope he wasn't a patient here" Ashton says.

  
"Yeah I hope so too" Luke says still not able to shake the feeling that he knows this boy somehow.

  
"Are you fine to keep going?" Ashton asks rubbing comforting circles on Luke's hip and snapping the blonde boy out of his reverie.

  
"Oh yeah I'm fine" Luke says shaking the thoughts of the small boy from his head.

  
Surely he doesn't actually know this boy, he's just shocked by the youth of him and his sleep deprived mind is playing tricks on him. Luke can't possibly know the boy, he probably just reminds Luke of someone.

  
They finally reach the main doors which happen to be unlocked although Luke isn't really sure whether or not that is a good thing but he's leaning towards bad. They have a lock pick for if they did have to get into anywhere that's locked and the fact the main doors were unlocked is kind of offputting. It's almost as if someone or  _something_  was expecting them. The creak they make when Michael pulls them open, that sounds like something straight out of a horror movie, only adds to that feeling.

  
The main hall is creepy in the dark but other than that it just looks like the main hall of any other institution, just older and blander. There's a open space with rusted old chairs and corridors lead off in all directions. If it was light and the chairs were new then it wouldn't look creepy at all but something about it still sends shivers down Luke's spine.

  
Maybe it's because he's knows this place isn't as innocent as it looks and it's almost as if the patients are still living there. Not as like ghosts or anything but the overall sombre feeling that this place had when it was still operating is still around. Luke almost feels as if he's a patient in the institute and he can feel the same fear and sorrow that patients had once felt.

  
"So do we just like walk around or is there any particular place you want to go to?" Ashton's voice snaps Luke out of his thoughts startling him and he jumps a little making the older boy look up worried.

  
"You, okay?" Ashton asks.

  
"Oh yeah I'm fine I was just thinking and you startled me" Luke says fake laughing and Ashton doesn't reciprocate.

  
He just smiles sadly at Luke, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to his temple, and in different circumstances Luke probably would've blushed.

  
"Yeah I guess" Michael says "I thought we'd just like explore"

  
"Well which way do you want to go?" Ashton asks.

  
"How about we just go straight, whatever's through there looks rather creepy" Michael suggests pointing to doors at the end of the hallway.

  
"You lead the way then, since this was your idea" Ashton says.

  
"But you're the oldest" Michael argues.

  
"Ugh I'll just go!" Calum says annoyed and pushing his way past the other three boys.

  
"I guess we should follow" Michael says.

  
"Yeah we should" Ashton says "and you're going first, he's  _your_  boyfriend and besides I have to talk to mine"

  
"Jeez, okay I'm going, I'm going" Michael says.

  
"I'm fi-" Luke tries to protest but Ashton cuts him off.

  
"Are you really though?" Ashton asks "You're tired which would only make things like this worse and you keep zoning out. You look like you've seen a ghost, you haven't have you?"

  
"Well no I- I don't know. I haven't seen a ghost but I just feel like the patients are still here, but not as ghosts. I just feel like- not that I'm like back in time because I can't like see the patients or anything. I don't know it's just like the emotions of the patients are still here and I can feel that. Do you?" Luke asks.

  
"Well no" Ashton admits "but this place does me give the creeps"

  
"It's not just the creeps that I feel" Luke says "It's almost like I'm one of them, like I can feel the same dread that they did"

  
"Well I don't really know how to help Lukey" Ashton says "I wish I did but I don't. We can always leave if you want to".

  
"No I'm fine it's probably nothing" Luke says although he's not sure he's trying to convince Ashton or himself, the feeling's only getting stronger.

  
"If you say so" Ashton says smiling sadly and pulling Luke even closer, he intertwines the hand that's wrapped around Luke with Luke's. It's even harder to walk like that now but Ashton doesn't care, as long as he has Luke safe beside him he doesn't care.

  
They reach the end of the hallways and Calum pushes the door open and when he does Luke suddenly feels cold.

  
"Did you feel that?" He whispers.

  
"Yeah but it's probably just wind that was created when the doors opened" Ashton says uncertainly.

  
"Yeah, you're probably right" Luke says unsure.

  
The room the doors lead into looks some sort of- well, dorm doesn't really seem like a good word to describe it, more of like a holding unit. It's has twelve beds lined up on each side of side of the room, all of which are yellow and decaying and one even has a stain that looks an awful lot like faded blood.  
Luke tightens his grip Ashton's hand needing the feeling that he's not alone because he feels as alone as the patients must have felt. In fact sometimes it's as if he can see them, but he's probably just imagining things.

  
Then he sees something, well  _someone_  rather out of the corner of his eye and when he looks over to the bed where the person is he almost chokes on his saliva.  _It's him._

  
"Luke, what's wrong?" Ashton asks worriedly making Michael and Calum who were around the bed where  _he_  is, look over concerned.

  
Calum and Michael are acting like he isn't there. Don't they see him? Don't they see the little blonde boy sitting on the bed? Does he see them? Why is he only looking at Luke?

  
"Lukey, what's wrong?" Ashton asks more urgent this time.

  
"Don't you see him?" Luke asks.

  
"See who? Luke?" Ashton asks panicked this time.

  
This has to be some kind of sick joke. It has to. The little boy is probably some cousin of Michael or something and they're pretending like they don't see him to freak Luke out. This is probably some sort of sick prank.  _It has to be._

  
Although Luke knows that isn't true. Sure, Michael and Calum like to prank Luke a lot but they'd never do something this cruel and there's no way  _Ashton_  would be in on it.

  
So Luke is just hallucinating some little boy, maybe he really is more like the patients here than he thought.

  
"Luke!" Ashton's panicked voice snaps Luke out of his thoughts. "Who do you see? Babe? You're scaring me!"

  
"The little boy" Luke says confusing Ashton for a minute but he eventually clues in.

  
"The one from the picture?" Ashton asks and Luke nods.

  
"He's right there, in that bed next to Michael" Luke says pointing to where the little boy is and Michael looks at the bed next to him and jumps out of the way startled.

  
"Luke, there's no one there" Ashton says worriedly.

  
"But he's right there! Don't you see him?! Tell me you see him!  _Ash._ " Luke cries, chocking back tears.

  
The way Luke says Ashton's name is so pitiful. It makes Ashton's heart break and he wraps his arm around his boyfriend.

  
"Shhh" Ashton comforts rubbing circles on Luke's back "shhh you're okay, Lukey. I've got you, you're gonna be okay. We can leave now, we can leave and you can some rest, okay?"

  
Luke wants to agree with Ashton.  _He really does._  A huge part of him wants to melt into Ashton's arms like he normally does and leave the Asylum behind. Leave behind the little boy that only he can see and the feeling of dread of sorrow that only increases with each second he spends in there. To go back to the comfort of his own home and cuddle with Ashton as they fall asleep. Maybe they'll watch a couple movies to help take Luke's mind off the Asylum or maybe Luke'll just fall asleep instantly like he always does when Ashton's strong arms are wrapped around him. Luke wants to take the easy way out but he  _can't_.

  
He can't leave the little boy behind. He can't leave behind all these unanswered questions that would eat away at him if he did leave now. Like who the little boy is. Why Luke is the only that can see him. Why the little boy looks so sad.

  
The answer to that is obviously really, he's in an Asylum where they horrifically treat the patients. Who knows what he's seen, what's been done to him. Why is such a young boy here? Why does he only seem interested in Luke? Why does Luke feel a connection to him?

  
"No" Luke says after a few minutes.

  
"What?" Ashton asks, his hands stopping their comforting motions on Luke's back and he pulls away slightly.

  
"I can't leave, not now" Luke says "I can't leave him"

  
"Luke there's no one there" Ashton says "You're just anxious and sleep deprived and you're seeing things. Please come home with me."

  
Luke avoids Ashton's eyes because he's a millimetre away from caving and going home with Ashton and he knows that if he looks into his eyes he will cave. He can't help it though and when he looks into Ashton eyes he instantly feels guilty.

  
They look so worried and in shock as if Luke was breaking up with Ashton or something. Luke feels guilty because he knows if he just gives in and tells Ashton he wants to go home that he can take that away and Ashton's hazel eyes will become bright again, like honey in the sun as Luke likes to describe them.

  
It's rather fitting seeing as Ashton is Luke's sunshine. He lights up Luke's whole world, especially when he's laughing or smiling. He's the only one that can cheer up Luke whenever he's upset and he doesn't even have to do much. Just smiling at Luke or holding him works. He's the only one that truly knows Luke. He knows things about Luke even Liz doesn't. He's the only one he can talk to about anything. Unless he wants to surprise Ashton of course, which then he consults Calum and Michael, or Jack, if he wants a mature perspective. Ashton is Luke's whole world and Luke loves him more than anything else in the world.

  
That's why the thing Luke does next is the hardest thing he's ever done. He's knows it'll only hurt Ashton more and he hates himself for it.  _He really does._  But he has to do it. If he doesn't he'll just spend the rest of his life looking for answers about the little boy.

  
"I'm sorry Ash" Luke says sadly before pulling away " _I'm so fucking sorry._ But I see the little boy and I know he sees me. I know you don't see him, but I do and I know I'm not just imagining it. I have to find out who he is and why he seems so familiar. I have to find out or it'll eat away at me forever".

  
Luke doesn't know why he's making it seem like he's saying goodbye but he does. He just feels like he has to even though Ashton will be right beside him, even if he doesn't see the little boy, he will,  _won't he?_

  
"I love you Ash" Luke says cupping Ashton's face in his hands.

  
"I love you too, Lukey" Ashton says wrapping his arms around Luke's waist and pulling him close before crashing their lips together.

  
They both put everything into the kiss as if it's their last because for some reason they feel like it is. They know it's not but that doesn't stop it from being any less passionate. That doesn't stop them from giving it their all.

  
When they finally pull away they're both breathless but when they do finally catch their breath it's Ashton who speaks first.

  
"I can't see him but I know you can. So just do whatever you have to do and I'll be beside you. We're in this together." Ashton says intertwining his hands with Luke's.

  
"We'll be with you too" Calum says.

  
"Of course, we're all in this together" Michael says laughing at his cheesy 'High School Musical' reference.

  
Even in this creepy Asylum Luke can still bring himself to laugh and Ashton and Calum join as well.

  
"Is he still in that bed?" Ashton asks once they've finished laughing.

  
"Yeah he is" Luke says.

  
"Okay, well you know, do whatever, speak to him or something" Ashton says making Luke laugh.

  
"Speak to him or something?" Luke giggles "you're making it sound like I'm a medium or something"

  
"Well you're the only one who can see the little boy. "Ashton says "I don't know about  _you_  but I'd call that a medium"

  
"Oh whatever, just c'mon" Luke says pulling Ashton along towards the bed where the little boy is.

  
The little boy notices Luke starting towards him and giggles. It's beautiful really and Luke wonders when the last time the little boy had laughed was. He doesn't think he wants to know.

  
Luke looks over to Ashton to see if he noticed but Ashton doesn't seem phased by anything.  
"Did you hear?" Luke asks Ashton hopeful.

  
"No, sorry" Ashton says sadly "But what did he say or do?"

  
"He just laughed, but he's over here now" Luke says gesturing towards the doors that the little boy ran off too.

  
Luke leads Ashton to the doors and he knows Calum and Michael are right behind. When he reaches the little boy he giggles again and sticks his hand out towards Luke. Luke takes his hand with the one that isn't holding Ashton's and when he does he feels this jolt of energy.

  
And suddenly Luke's world is spinning and he can't feel Ashton's warm hand in his anymore.  
\---  
When everything stops spinning Luke is back in the main entrance of the Asylum with the little boy.  
Except everything is different.

  
For starters the lights are on and the hallways look cleaner, brand new almost. Not to mention there are people sitting in the chairs, patients, Luke assumes, from they fact they look solemn and tortured. It's almost as if Luke travelled right back into the 1950s when the asylum was still in operation.  
But that isn't possible, surely Luke is just dreaming,  _right_? When he touched the little boy something about it must've made him pass out, or maybe it's from lack of sleep. If he just opens his eyes he'll see Ashton hovering over him worriedly, or maybe they'll be back at Luke's house, if only he'd open eyes.  
But Luke can't open his eyes because they're already open and he isn't dreaming.

  
A tug on Luke's hand snaps him back to reality and he looks down to see the little boy pointing excitedly to a brown haired woman on one of the seats, perhaps she's his mother or something, Luke things to himself.

  
Luke allows the little boy to lead him towards the woman and when they reach her the little boy tugs on her gown slightly. The woman who had her head in her hands looks up startled and the utter fear in her eyes almost makes Luke gasp.  _What kind of things have been done to this woman?_

  
When she notices the little boy however she smiles instantly, a true smile.

  
"Hello, how are you today Eli?" The woman says, her voice light like anyone else's would be when taking to a child but Luke can detect a hint of sorrow.

  
Luke is so wrapped up in how terrified the woman's voice sounds, even when she appears to be happy that he doesn't even fully register her saying the boys name until a few seconds later. And when he does Luke feels like he could faint.

  
_Eli_. Luke had a grandfather on his dad's side named Eli. He died before Luke was born so he never knew him. He did know that he had a mental illness however that ended up killing him. It can't be him, Luke thinks but knows his denial is irrational.

  
It is him. It would make sense. He would've been young around this time, not any older than ten. His mental illnesses, which Luke is mentally kicking himself because he can't remember what they were, or are, would be the reason he's here. It would explain how Luke feels like he knows him. It would explain how he distantly looks like Luke.

  
No one ever told Luke, his grandfather had been a patient at the asylum.  _Why?_  Perhaps they thought he was too young which is understandable, but Luke is seventeen now. Why wouldn't his mother have mentioned it when he told her he was going to the Asylum. Did she not want the others to know? If so she could've always asked to speak to Luke in private.

  
Did she even know? Did she even know her father in law was once a patient in the notorious asylum? Did Luke's father ever tell her? Did he even know? Did he know his father was once a patient in the Asylum.  _Did anyone know?_

  
Luke is snapped out of his thoughts when he feels the little boy...or Eli, or his  _grandfather_  let go of his hand.

  
Eli climbs into the woman's lap and he giggles when she hands him something. A piece of cherry candy. Cherry has always been Luke's favourite and it appears to be Eli's as well. That could only be more proof that Eli really is Luke's grandfather.

  
The woman presses a finger to her lips to quiet Eli and whispers for him to not tell anyone. Luke doesn't want to know what the woman went through to get that candy. He doesn't want to know what would happen to the woman if she ever got caught giving candy to Eli. He doesn't want to know what would happened to  _Eli_  if he ever got caught with the candy.

  
Eli hugs the woman and thanks her, calling her Mrs. Johnson before, hopping down from her lap and taking Luke's hand again.

  
The woman doesn't even acknowledge Luke once and he wonders if she can see him. None of the other patients seem to notice Luke either. The fact that a strange 6'4 boy dressed in clothes that either wouldn't have even been invented yet or would only be for the very rich makes Luke stick out more than his red flannel shirt does against all the white. Surely Luke being here would be enough to send them into a panic, but they don't even acknowledge him.

  
Maybe they really can't see him. Maybe just like how Luke was the only who was able to see Eli, Eli is the one only one who is able to see Luke. Maybe when Luke took Eli's hand he entered into some Christmas Carole-esque vortex, except he's not reliving his own memories, but his grandfather's.   
Eli tugs on Luke's hand again and Luke allows Eli to lead him forward. They head straight down the hallway, the same hallway that Luke was waking down with Michael, Calum and  _Ashton_ , just how long ago? Is time even the same here?

  
As they walk down the hallway Luke feels Eli press something into his hand and he looks to down see it's the candy.

  
"Oh no, keep it. It's yours" Luke says.

  
"The guards" Eli says panicked, too much panic a child of his age should have.

  
What Eli is saying finally registers to Luke after he gets over the initial shock of hearing his voice. Sure Luke had just heard it no longer than two minutes ago when Eli thanked Mrs. Johnson for the candy but then he had just sounded like a normal kid. Now he can hint the same tortured tone Mrs. Johnson and probably all the patients here have. It sounds as if not only has Eli witnessed torture and even worse but it's happened to him. Luke knows that there's a high possibility that it is true, but he doesn't want to think about it.

  
Luke doesn't want to think about what has been done to these patients. He doesn't want to think about what has been done to Eli. A young child.  _Luke's grandfather._

  
_The guards._  Luke realizes the reason Eli is giving the candy to him is because he doesn't want to get caught by the guards. Eli knows the guards can't see Luke and that the candy is safe with Luke.   
Luke takes the candy from Eli and sticks it in his flannel pocket as he doesn't want to crush it in his jeans, and Eli giggles.

  
"Tell me when you want to have it and I'll give to you, okay?" Luke says and Eli nods before grabbing Luke's hand and continuing to lead him down the hallway.

  
When the doors open Luke is half hoping he'll be brought back to the present, his present and that when the doors open he'll see his friends waiting for him as if nothing happened but Luke knows that won't happen. And he's kind of okay with that.

  
Of he course he wants to go back eventually, he doesn't want to stay here forever. He'd go as crazy as one of patients, which Luke is starting to realize aren't crazy and are just haunted by memories and love in constant fear, if he stayed here forever. Besides he can't leave his friends and family behind.  
He can't leave behind  _Ashton_ , who he knows is surely freaking out right now and doing something irrational to try and get Luke back. Luke hopes that Michael and Calum can stop him from doing anything to rash or even hurting himself and Luke knows they'll be able to, but he still can't help but worry.

  
He can't go back now though. Not when he doesn't know all the answers and his journey has only just begun.

  
When Eli finally does push the doors open the room is brightly light and each bed is filled with a child except for one. The same one Eli was on before and Luke realizes it must be Eli's bed.

  
"Eli" a young girl with curly brown hair exclaims jumping up from her bed and hugging Eli making the small boy blush. Eli totally has a crush on this little girl and Luke thinks it utterly adorable. It's almost as if Eli and this little girl are just in a regular school, not an asylum, a  _prison_.

  
"Hey Winnie" Eli giggles and Luke almost faints for the second time.

  
His grandmother's name is Winifred, but everyone calls her by her nickname Winnie. Luke's grandmother that had been married to Eli when he was still alive. Luke's grandma that is still alive today.

  
Is this how they met? That's so wrong and depressing but something about it is also kind of cute, in a twisted kind of way. Almost as if they were each other's light in this dark and solemn place.

  
Can Winnie see Luke? If Eli can see him then can Winnie? Or does the person have to be deceased in order to see Luke?

  
When Eli pulls away from Winnie she doesn't appear to notice anything out of the ordinary and Luke's heart falls a little. So she  _can't_  see him.

  
Eli then pulls something out of his hospital gown pocket and Luke realizes it's the candy. Or is it? Doesn't Luke have the candy? Luke reaches into his pocket for the candy and it's still there. He realizes Eli must have a different candy and Mrs. Johnson gave him two.

  
Luke also notices there are no guards around, just the other children, and Eli isn't secretive when he gives the candy to Winnie.  _So why did he give Luke candy_? The obviously answer to that would be that he likes Luke and maybe he somehow senses that they're related. Luke knows the answer isn't that simple though and that it is far more complex.

  
"Where's your candy? Did she only give you one?" Winnie asks reluctantly taking the candy from Eli.

  
"Yeah she was only able to get one" Eli says winking at Luke "and I want you to have it"

  
Winnie blushes, red as the candy and she looks down at it muttering a small thank you to Eli, who looks so proud that he made Winnie blush.

  
Luke thinks it's right up there with Ashton when sees or hears something funny and can't stop laughing for five minutes, in terms of adorableness.

  
"I have to go now, though Winnie" Eli's voice says snapping Luke out of his thoughts, he was totally not daydreaming about Ashton or anything, not at all.

  
"Oh" Winnie says sadly "well be safe"

  
"I promise I will be and that I'll come back" Eli says and Luke has to hold back tears because that's almost exactly what he said to Ashton.

  
"Where are you going?" Winnie asks "Can I come?"

  
"No, no, no it's too dangerous" Eli says panicked "I just have um people to visit and I don't want you to get hurt or anything"

  
"Oh" Winnie says dejectedly "well do you promise you'll come back safe?"

  
"I promise" Eli says linking pinkies with Winnie.

  
Luke thinks there's something calming and almost inspirational about the fact that even in a place like this kids still do pinkie promises.

  
"Okay well hurry" Winnie says kissing Eli on the cheek and making him blush.

  
"I-I will" Eli stutters before taking Luke's hand again and leading him through the doors, opposite the ones they came in.

  
The doors lead to another hallway and when they close Eli only walks for a few steps before stopping. He looks around frantically to make sure no one is there before turning to Luke.

  
"There's things I need to show you" Eli says "and they're kind of um disturbing, even more than whatever the textbooks have told you about but you have to know. You have to tell the others and by that I mean and Andy and Liz and your brothers too."

  
Luke is shocked by the vocabulary and maturity Eli shows as he speaks. Although in a place like this you kind of have no choice but to grow up fast.

  
"Okay I will" Luke says and Eli smiles sadly before staring to walk again.

  
As they descend down the long corridor doors start appearing on either side and Luke even thinks he can hear distant tortured screams and they only get louder. Luke can barely even handle hearing this, how is he supposed to see it?

  
Eli must notice Luke's dismay because he tugs on his hand.

  
"I know it's hard but you have to see so they know. They don't even know your grandmother and I were patients here and I know she's too unstable to tell them so you have to. They have to know the truth" Eli says.

  
"Okay I'll tell them" Luke says blinking away his tears.

  
After a few more minutes Eli stops at a door, that is marked 256, electroconvulsive therapy.

  
"We don't have to stop here I know what this is" Luke says trying to get out of having to go in because even just the textbook pictures of this are enough to make Luke sick to his stomach.

  
"Not the true severity of it" Eli says "and I can't go in with you because they'll see me but just know that can't see you or hurt you."

  
"Okay" Luke says neglecting to tell Eli that the reasons he doesn't want to go isn't just because he doesn't want them to do something to him but because he doesn't think he's strong enough to handle seeing that be done to the patient.

  
"Go now" Eli says letting go of Luke's hand and pushing him towards the door and Luke is so weak from just thinking about the shock therapy that Eli's slight push sends him tumbling towards the door.  
\---  
One minute Ashton is holding onto Luke who is leading him towards a doorway where he says he can see a little boy. The next minute Luke is reaching out as if he's reaching for the little boys hand. The minute after that there is a bright flash of green light and Luke's hand is thrust out of Ashton's and then he's gone.

  
_Luke is gone._

  
"Where is he?!" Ashton shouts frantically "Where the fuck is he?!"

  
"Maybe he went through the door?" Michael suggests.

  
"He didn't just go through the door you fucking idiot" Ashton seethes.

  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa don't attack Michael, he was just trying to help" Calum says "and there was a flash of green light and that was all we could see for a few seconds. It's not completely irrational to think he slipped out the door then and we didn't even notice".

  
"I would notice! There was that fucking light and then he was practically ripped away from me! And then.. then... he's gone" Ashton's voice goes from shouting to barely a whisper.

  
"No he's not" Calum says wrapping his arms around Ashton "not for good"

  
"Yeah we'll find him" Michael says joining the hug "we won't leave until we do"

  
Ashton knows he should hug Calum and Michael back but all he can think of is how incomplete their group hug is without Luke,  _how incomplete they are without Luke_. Michael and Calum must know because they don't say anything about Ashton not reciprocating the hug and for that Ashton is grateful. He really does have the best friends in the world.

  
And the best boyfriend, who was taken away by some green entity and while Ashton knows deep down Luke isn't gone forever he still can't help but be worried. What was that thing? Is it good or evil? Where did it take Luke? Is Luke safe? How will he get back? When will he get back? Will he get back?

  
Ashton knows that he probably will. Luke is smart and he can take care of himself, Ashton knows that. He does, he knows Luke doesn't need Ashton to always worry about him or take care of him. Ashton just does that because he wants to and he knows Luke likes it. Luke doesn't actually need Ashton though and if any of them truly needed the other it would be Ashton needing Luke.

  
Luke is always the one that can calm Ashton down, whether he's drunkenly dancing on a table at a party or if he's panicking over something that could happen to Luke. Luke is the only one that can calm Ashton down. Michael and Calum can try and for their sake Ashton can pretend that he's alright on the outside but he'll still be freaking out internally.

  
He can act calm but he won't truly be calm until Luke is safe in his arms again.

  
Ashton knows that acting calm is the right thing to do, he can't freak out Michael and Calum too. They're level-headed and could actually think of a rational, well at least on their terms, way to get Luke back. Ashton is panicked enough himself, he doesn't need his friends to be. So Ashton swallows the lump in his throat and wipes away his tears before taking a few deep breaths and speaking.

  
"I'm sorry" he says, his voice coming out steadier than he feels " I'm sorry for snapping at you guys it's just- it's just"

  
"Luke" Calum supplies "we know. We're worried about him too. We might not be in love with him but we do love him. He's like a little brother to us and we're going to get him back"

  
"We will, I'm making it my mission to get him back and when does Michael Clifford ever fail?" Michael says and Calum and Ashton exchange glances.

  
"Are we supposed to not comment on that?" Calum says making Ashton smile a little "because if you want the truth you fail pretty much every test you have at school. I don't think putting this 'mission' in your hands would be the best idea".

  
"Yeah but that's school I don't care about that. I could do better I just chose not to because it's a waste of time. Luke isn't a waste of time though and I care about him so I'll actually put effort into finding him" Michael says.

  
"Wow you're actually putting effort into something. I should mark this on my calendar " Calum says sarcastically.

  
It's supposed to funny but Ashton can't find it funny because it sounds exactly like something Luke would say. Of course Ashton would make Calum's joke go back to Luke. Everything goes back to Luke.

  
Ashton knows that's probably unhealthy but he doesn't care. Luke is Ashton's whole world and now he's gone and Ashton doesn't know what to do. And  _fuck_ , Ashton bets that if he was the one that was taken by the entity or Michael and Calum was Luke would know what to do.

  
Luke always knows what to do in any situation, whether it's in schoolwork or how to get around somewhere. Luke's always helping Ashton with his schoolwork and he has no problem with any of the work despite the fact that it's college work and Luke is still only in high school. Whenever they go to someone random town, Luke will always know how to get around there, even if he's never been there before. It's like he's just born knowing where everything is, like fucking Dora the Explorer. Okay maybe Dora wasn't the comparison but Ashton doesn't know any other famous explorers,  _but Luke would know._

  
"So what's your plan?" Ashton asks.

  
"Well I was thinking we could hold a seance" Michael says.

  
Ashton doesn't really think that's a good idea because  _well_ , he's watched horror movies before and he knows seances usually do more harm than good.

  
Ashton doesn't really care if it's risky though because he'll do anything to get Luke back and so far this is the only plan they've got.

  
"If we say a prayer or something before we do the seance it should protect us from any evil spirits. It's in my ghost book" Michael says and Ashton looks at Calum who shrugs, as if to say 'what else can we do?'.

  
So that's how they end up sitting around a circle of candles set up on the space of floor where there are no beds and the ouija board in the middle of them. Michael has his ghost book in his hands and is reading from it.

  
"So number one says to set everything up, which we've done" Michael says "and number two says we need a medium, which is someone who's either already been at seance or can see ghosts and stuff".

  
"Well that would be Luke, but he isn't here is he?" Ashton says bitterly it's kind of rude but inside he's still worried sick about Luke.

  
"Well yeah" Michael says icily "we've established that".

  
"Hey, hey, hey. Knock it off you two. The last thing we need, the last thing Luke needs" Calum looks at Ashton as he says the last part "the last thing Luke needs is for you two to be fighting. How are we supposed to rescue him if we can't get along with each other? Not to mention I don't think any ghosts would tune into a seance that is just two teenage boys bickering at each other".

  
"Bickering?" Michael laughs.

  
"Yes bickering, that's what you're doing" Calum says.

  
"Okay fine but I think Ashton should be the medium" Michael says "He and Luke are practically one person".

  
"I don't know, isn't it kind of dangerous?" Calum asks hesitantly.

  
"It's for Luke" Ashton says "I'll do anything for him so I'm fine with it".

  
"Okay, well if you say so" Calum says still hesitant.

  
"Okay well now that that's settled onto number three!" Michael says clapping his hands together "it's says we need some sort of offering, like the blood of a virgin. Which again we need Luke for".

  
The glare Ashton gives Michael is enough to send even the scariest ghosts running, or floating, away and Michael shudders a little.

  
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding" Michael says throwing his hands up in defence "we just need like bread or something"

  
"I have bread" Ashton says reaching into his bag and he finds a bunch of supplies and about five water bottles but no bread.

  
He and Luke packed different things because they thought it would save space and they'd be together so there wouldn't be a point of bringing all the same things. They really should've thought that through more. Ashton is just glad he convinced Luke to put water in his bag too.

  
"Luke has bread" Ashton corrects himself.

  
"Well then these ghosts better like Doritos" Michael says opening the bag of Doritos and setting a handful in the middle of all the candles "and I mean it or else this would be a waste of perfectly good Doritos".

  
"Okay and then we just join hands and start the summoning" Michael says and they all join hands.

  
"Eww you still have Dorito dust on your hands" Calum whines.

  
"You can lick it off" Michael winks and Ashton groans and has to look away because he really didn't think Calum would actually take Michael up on that offer.

  
"Okay repeat after me" Michael says once they're all holding hands again " Our beloved Asylum ghosts"

  
"Our beloved...Asylum ghosts?" Calum and Ashton say hesitantly and exchange glances.

  
"We don't know their names so we're calling them the Asylum ghosts" Michael says "now say it with more certainty or else it won't work. Start again".

  
"Our beloved Asylum ghosts" Calum and Ashton repeat more seriously this time.

  
"We bring you gifts from life into death" Michael says.

  
"We bring you gifts from life into death" Ashton and Calum say.

  
"Commune with us, Asylum ghosts, and move among us" Michael says.

  
"Commune with us, Asylum ghosts, and move among us" Ashton and Calum repeat biting their lips to keep from laughing.

  
As soon as they finish the chant the room becomes suddenly cold and the flames on all the candles flicker. It's safe to assume that it's working.

  
"Okay so there's obviously at least one of you here. We're going to ask you simple questions first and we want you to knock on the ground, once for yes and twice for no, when we get to the more complex questions we can use the ouija board. Does that sound good? You're free to have a Dorito at anytime, please don't let them go to waste" Michael says as if he's just having a friendly conversation, not talking to potentially evil spirits and Ashton and Calum exchange glances.

  
There's a single knock on the ground and Michael takes that as a cue to start asking questions.

  
"Is there more than one spirit in this room?" Michael asks getting two knocks.

  
"So just one of you that makes it easier" Michael says. "Is there more than one spirit in the Asylum?"

  
This time there is one knock, obviously meaning yes, there is more than one spirit in the asylum.

  
"Were you a patient?" Calum asks and gets one knock.

  
"Would you consider yourself a threatening or aggressive spirit?" Michael asks earning two knocks and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

  
"Are there threatening or aggressive spirits in the asylum?" Calum asks earning one knock, okay maybe they relaxed too quickly.

  
"Guys slow down you're overwhelming them" Ashton says.

  
"He doesn't seem to mind,  _she_  doesn't seem to mind" Michael says correcting himself when the candles start to flicker after he uses the wrong pronoun. "Sorry, sorry".

  
"You ask a question now, Ash" Calum says and Ashton has to compose himself because that's exactly what Luke would say.

  
Okay, maybe Ashton really is too attached to Luke because anyone would say that in this situation. Ashton doesn't really care if he's too attached to Luke though because anything's better than not having Luke with him. Of course Ashton's question is about Luke, of course, but in his defence he whole point of the seance is to get answers about Luke, he just wants to speed it along a little.

  
"Have you seen our friend Luke?" Ashton asks "he's really tall and has blonde hair and is wearing a red plaid shirt and black jeans and sneakers. He's probably with a younger blonde boy"

  
The ouija board starts moving and they take that as a cue to start using it and all place their hands over the marker. The marker begins to move and spells out a three lettered word, which the three boys realize is a name. E-L-I.

  
"Eli" Ashton whispers,the name seeming vaguely familiar for some reason " Is that the name of the little boy?"

  
The marker then moves to the 'yes' space on the ouija board.

  
"Was Luke with him?" Ashton asks, still wondering why the name seems so familiar.

  
The marker moves over to the the 'no' space and Ashton's heart falls a little and he slumps his shoulders.

  
"Oh" he says smally.

  
"When Luke disappeared there was a flash of green light, do you have any idea what that could be?" Michael asks and the marker moves back to 'yes', making Ashton sit up straighter again.

  
"What is it?" Calum asks and the marker moves to the 'T' before circling around and going back to the 'T' again.

  
"It's an acronym of some sort" Calum says and Michael is about to make a comment probably something along the lines of 'well no shit Sherlock' but Calum's glare makes him shut up.

  
"Could it be like time travel or something? That's all I can think of" Ashton says and the marker lands on the 'yes', and it hits Ashton.

  
Now he knows why the name Eli was so familiar. That was the name of Luke's grandfather who passed away before he was born. It all makes sense now. That would explain why the boy seemed so familiar to Luke and why only Luke could see him.

  
The time travel aspect why would explain why Luke said he felt like patients were still there but not in a ghostly way. He could've somehow already have been time travelling or just gotten a feeling he was going to be when he was with still with Ashton.

  
The only thing that doesn't make sense is why Luke's grandfather was still a little boy but Ashton doesn't think much of it. He's no expert on time travel, in fact he didn't even know it existed until no more than three minutes ago.

  
Besides now that he knows where Luke is he has way more to worry about. Can the other patients see Luke or just Eli? Ashton hopes it's the latter because he knows Luke would stick out like a sore thumb in the Asylum even if he did disguise himself. He's so tall, there probably wouldn't be any other patients of his height at the Asylum. What if he accidentally scared one of them and the guards came running? What would they do to him? What would happen if one of the doctors thought he was a patient? Ashton knows the types of horrific procedures they performed at these Asylums. He can't bare the thought of that happening to anyone, let alone  _Luke_.

  
Ashton is snapped out his thoughts by someone shaking him and when he comes to his senses he realizes it's Calum and Michael and that all the candles are blown out.

  
"Ashton?" Michael asks "Are you okay? We stopped the seance because you just zoned out. What happened?"

  
"I know where he is" Ashton says.   
"Luke?" Calum asks and Ashton nods in confirmation.

  
"That little boy Luke saw was his grandfather, I don't know how but somehow he was able to come back as a little boy and he took Luke back in time with him. I don't know why though and I don't know if he's safe" Ashton says.

  
"I'm sure he is" Calum reassures "if he's with his grandfather and all"

  
"But is he Calum?!" Ashton cries "do you know what kind of stuff goes on in these Asylums? What if his grandfather isn't the only one who's able to see him? What if the other patients and the doctors can see him? Do you know what could happen if they got a hold of him? There's not much a little boy can do to protect him!"

  
"Ash I'm sure he's fine you need to calm down" Michael says and okay that wasn't the best choice of words.

  
"I don't need to calm down!" Ashton seethes "If anything you guys should be worrying more! Luke could be in serious danger! Do you not care about him at all?!"

  
"That's bullshit Ash, you know we do" Michael says.

  
"Don't call me that" Ashton grumbles.

  
"What?" Michael asks confused.

  
"I said don't fucking call me Ash!" Ashton growls "That's what Luke calls me and you aren't allowed to!"

  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry" Michael says not mentioning the fact everyone calls Ashton 'Ash', not just Luke, as he knows it'll only anger Ashton more. Besides it's obviously reminds Ashton of Luke and Michael would get pissed if someone kept mentioning Calum if he was the one who had been taken.

  
"We have to look for him!" Ashton exclaims.

  
"And how would we do that?" Calum asks "He's in a different time period".

  
"He has to come back at some point but we don't know where so we'll just walk around until we find him. And we could see portals or something that could lead us to where he is and if we do we could go in there and get him out" Ashton says and he's not shouting anymore but he's still frantic " we should split up too"

  
"No" Michael says "we can look for him of course even if it's kind of pointless, it's  _Luke_. There's no way you're going alone though."

  
"Why not?!" Ashton seethes "you think I can't take care of myself? I'm fucking older than you!"

  
"Yeah, well you sure aren't acting like it, just look at yourself Ashton. You're screaming at us for no reason, when we're only to help you. If you went off on your own and acted reckless like this you could get yourself killed, and how would you be able to help Luke then?" Michael says knowing that's he's getting to Ashton by the way he's silent and doesn't show any signs of protesting.

  
"Look, I know you love Luke, well all see it, everyone sees it. You look at him like he's the whole fucking universe and he does the same to you. I know that you're worried, you always worry about him even over petty things and this is actually really serious. I'd be the same way if this happened to Calum but it's not the right way to act. If you want to truly help Luke you have to remain calm. You have to be aware of your surroundings so you don't accidentally hurt yourself while looking for him. You have to be calm so if you really do find a portal or something not only can you recognize it but if you do decide to enter it you'll know how to act in it. You have to be calm so you don't end up getting lost. You have to be calm so you can think rationally because that's the only way to help Luke."

  
"Yeah you're right" Ashton says after a few minutes "I just can't help but worry".

  
"We're all worried about him, you just have to not let it consume you" Michael says wrapping his arms around Ashton.

  
"Yeah okay I won't" Ashton says burying his face into Michael shoulder.

  
"You promise?" Michael asks.

  
"I promise" Ashton says.

  
"And if I let you go alone, you promise you won't do anything stupid?" Michael asks pulling away slightly.

  
"I promise" Ashton says.

  
"Okay well I'm gonna trust you alone, don't make me regret it" Michael says.

  
"I won't, I promise" Ashton says burying his face further into Michael's shoulder.

  
"Well if we're really splitting up give me a hug too, you losers!" Calum exclaims before joining the group hug.

  
Yeah the hug might not feel complete without Luke but that doesn't mean it isn't comforting and meaningful.  
\---  
Luke steadies himself on the doorknob before hesitantly twisting it open.

  
When Luke enters the room he almost throws up at what he sees.

  
A man is strapped down, more like shackled, to a bed and there are doctors all around him. The man has a look of absolute horror on his face and he's muttering himself and trying to break free but he's strapped so securely to the table he can barely move.

  
"Get me out of here you monsters!" The man shouts "I'm not the crazy one here! It's all of you!"   
Two doctors look at each other and nod before injecting the man with something that not only silences him but makes his body go limp.

  
They along with a couple other doctors then place what appears to be a helmet littered with tiny electrodes over the mans head.

  
One doctor then nods to another doctor who is standing over by a machine with a large switch and when the doctor pulls that switch all the electrodes on the helmet light up blue sending the man into violent convulsions.

  
As much as Luke wants leave he knows he's can't as he knows there's something else Eli wants him to see here but he doesn't know what yet. What could be worse than this?

  
Instead he just shields his eyes until the cracklings of the electricity stops and it is silent,  _too silent._  
Luke hesitantly opens his eyes and he sees the man's lifeless body on the bed. A doctor presses a stethoscope to the mans chest and declares that they lost him before shrugging. Shrugging as if he had just lost a game of cards when he in reality he had just killed a man. And it means nothing to him as if it's an everyday occurance, which Luke knows it most likely is.

  
It makes Luke sick. Not only that but it makes him angry and he wants the shout at the doctors for being so cruel and inhumane. He wants to shout at them for treating a human being like he's no more than some vermin. Luke knows there's no use though. The doctors won't hear him and it'll probably only end up scaring Eli.

  
So he keeps quiet but he doesn't forget. He never will forget about the life of the poor man whom he doesn't even know. He'll tell his family the true brutality of these institutions because he feels like he owes it to the man, to all the patients.

  
"Let's get him out of here, then" a doctor finally says and they begin unstrapping the man and Luke knows he has to leave.

  
He can't can't bare to see the doctor the treat the mans body like it's a piece of everyday trash. He can't bare to see where it would go.

  
"They killed him like it was nothing" is the first thing Luke says, more like cries to Eli, when he meets him out in the hallway.

  
"I know" Eli says sadly reaching up for who Luke who bends down so the small boy can reach.

  
Eli runs his small fingers through Luke's hair and it's so comforting and Eli is so adorable that Luke can't bring himself to care if he messes it up. Besides after Luke just witnessed caring about getting his hair messed up just seems so shallow and superficial and even insensitive in a way.

  
"I know it's disturbing but that's what you needed to see" Eli says "And there's more you need to see. It'll be even more disturbing and that was probably the least brutal out of the three but you need to see them. I was never able to tell this story and I know your grandma won't be able to tell it.  _She_  doesn't even know the full story. You have to tell the true story, for me and all the other patients".

  
"Okay I will, I will" Luke says.

  
"C'mon the faster we go to the next method the faster this'll all be over and you can get out of here and see your friends and family." Eli says.

  
"Okay" Luke says sadly before getting up slowly.

  
Eli leads Luke to the next room which is titled 275, lobotomy and Luke looks at Eli hesitantly.

  
"C'mon you can do this, you got through the first one. If it's too much you can always close your eyes, I just want you to get a feel of what happened you don't need to know the full details" Eli says and Luke nods.

  
"Okay, okay" Luke repeats more to himself than Eli before turning the doorknob.

  
When he gets in the room he sees woman strapped to a chair and even though there are restraints securing her, there are also doctors holding her. Luke then realizes the screams he heard earlier must've been from this woman. He doesn't know want to know what they did to the woman to her make her quiet.

  
A doctor approaches the woman with some type of surgical drill and her eyes widen in terror.

  
"No,no,no get that away from me!" The woman starts off whispering but increases in volume with each word until she's screaming again.

  
"Silence her" the head doctor says to one of his assistants. The assistant goes over to a side table and grabs a cloth and ties it around the woman's mouth. Even her muffled screams are still loud and a doctor strikes her in the back of the head and tells her to shut up, effectively silencing her.

  
Luke feels his knees give out and he catches himself from falling as the drill begins to buzz. The woman begins screaming again and Luke looks away before it even begins.

  
He can't see anything but he can  _hear_  it, even with his hands over his ears, and it's enough to give him eternal nightmares.

  
When it's silent again Luke hesitantly opens his eyes and he wishes he didn't.

  
He sees long tubes attached to, for lack of a better word, holes, in the woman's head and they appear to be feeding some sort of brown liquid to her brain.

  
Luke recognizes it as alcohol by the distinct colour and smell and at first he's confused as to why they'd be feeding her alcohol and then it hits him.

  
Lobotomies are procedures where they try to inflict as much damage to the prefrontal cortex as possible and alcohol damage would just be one the methods. Probably the most humane, for lack of a better word.

  
Luke knows the procedure isn't over but he has to get out of there. If he doesn't he'll most likely throw up, maybe even faint.

  
Luke expects Eli to be surprised that he left so early when he gets back into the hallway and maybe he'll even tell Luke to go back in, but he doesn't.

  
Instead he just pulls Luke down to him and runs his hands through Luke's hair.

  
"It's okay, it's okay" Eli reassures "you don't need to see it all, you just need to know the gist of it"

  
"I'm done" Luke cries "I can't see the last one".

  
"Yes you can Luke, I know you can" Eli says and Luke is kind of shocked to hear his name.

  
He's never told it to Eli, but then again Ashton did call him by his name while Eli was there. Luke feels like there's a different reason Eli knew his name however. Like there's some way Eli knows that he's Luke's grandfather, he knew about Luke's mum and brothers after all. It's almost as if what would be present Eli if he was still alive is speaking to Luke through his younger self. It would explain why he's so wise and insightful.

  
It's as if Eli was watching Luke from somewhere above, like a guardian angel of some sort. Perhaps that would explain why the Asylum was unlocked. Eli was expecting Luke's arrival. Perhaps that would explain why Luke suddenly became tired. He could somehow sense Eli's presence but his brain didn't know how to comprehend it so it told him he was tired. Perhaps that could explain why Eli's picture was in the garden. Eli wanted Luke to know what he looked like and feel a connection him before he met him in the asylum so Luke would know to go with him.

  
"Just one more Luke, you can do this" Eli comforts "it's the worst of all but I know you can do it".

  
"But I can't, I'm not strong enough for this" Luke cries.

  
"Yes you are, I  _know_  you are" Eli says wiping tears from Luke's eyes " you don't have to stay in this one long at all. There's going to be a lot to take in and I just want you to just take it and see what's happening and make sense of it and when you do you can come out. Then it'll all be over and I'll take you back to the present and you can see your friends again. Although I have feeling the curly haired one wasn't just your  _friend_ , was he?"

  
The mention of Ashton brings a smile to Luke's face and he smiles sadly.

  
"He's my boyfriend" Luke says slightly afraid Eli will judge him for being gay but he just smiles reassuringly. "His name's Ashton".

  
"Well just one more method to see and you'll be able to see him again" Eli says " are you ready now?"  
"Yeah, yeah I am" Luke says getting up.

  
Eli leads him to the very end of the hallway to a room titled 299, torture and and he looks at Eli hesitantly.

  
He doesn't know what it would mean by torture. Couldn't the shock therapy and lobotomies be classified as torture? What could be worse than that? And why is it so blatantly labeled? Luke doesn't think he wants to now and he doesn't want go through the door.

  
"Like I said Luke you don't have to spend much time in there" Eli says "Do it not for me but for Ashton".

  
It's the mention of Ashton's name that catches Luke's attention and he looks into Eli's blue eyes that are almost identical to his but sadder. Not only that but they're comforting and hopeful, faithful even, like Eli knows Luke will get through this and it gives him the strength he needs to turn the door knob.  
This room is way larger than all the others and there are different stations set up everywhere.

  
There are no patients or doctors in here but even then it makes Luke sick. He can make educated guesses about what the stations are for from when he learned about torture methods in history class.  
The table with clothes set on it and a hose overheard must be for waterboarding. Another table has a set of lights over it and they aren't turned on but Luke can assume that when they are they're extremely bright. He assumes this must be used for sleep deprivation or something although he's not sure why they would. All the other tables have various sharp instruments and Luke doesn't even want to think about what they're for.

  
He's got a sense of what they do here, they obviously perform different torture methods but he feels like he has to still stay as he doesn't know why they would do this. How is it even legal? It can't be. Even during the 1950s this had to have been illegal.

  
Why would they do this? What would make them think they had the right to treat their patients as test subjects? What kind of sick person could do this to people and claim it's for science?

  
Luke doesn't even notice the door open or anyone enter the room until he hears muffled screaming.   
He looks over and sees a group of doctors entering the room, two of them are holding a man who is gagged and frantically trying to escape between them. They lead him over to one of the tables with the sharp instruments and Luke knows he has to leave.

  
Part of him wants to stay and try to help the man escape but he knows he can't do anything as the man can't even see or hear him. Also if he did it would interfere with the balance of the universe or whatever and he could alter the present, or future.

  
Besides he has to make sure Eli is okay because the doctors could've seen him as they entered. Luke can only hope he had enough time to hide.

  
When Luke gets out into the hallways Eli is nowhere to be found and he begins to panic when he hears faint whispering. He recognizes the voice as Eli and he's calling Luke's name, unsurely, as he's afraid that it isn't Luke in the hallways.

  
"Eli? Is that you? You can come out now. It's Luke" Luke says knowing only Eli will hear Luke so he's not putting the young boy in any danger.

  
Luke notices a small hand creep out one of the doors and motion for Luke to come towards it and he knows it's Eli. He walks towards the doorway and when he arrives at it he's sees Eli crouching down and clutching his knees to his chest.

  
Eli acts so mature that Luke almost forgot he's just a little boy but now he can realize how young he really is.

  
"Are they gone?" Eli asks.

  
"Yeah they are" Luke says. "Can't you like disappear or something though so they don't see you?"

  
"Not if it's in my time" Eli says simply "what did you see?"

  
"They had a bunch of stations with different torture methods like they were testing them out" Luke says.

  
"That's because they are" Eli says "they want to study the effects each method has on the brain".

  
"But-but how is that even legal? It's not ethical!" Luke exclaims.

  
"Technically it isn't legal but the government doesn't really monitor, or even care what goes on in these institutions. I know in your time they do and they care about being ethical but not in this- my time. The doctors don't care about ethical in fact they don't even deserve be called doctors. They're  _monsters_  and that's what I wanted you to see" Eli says "I wanted you to see so you can inform our family of not only what went on in my past but in the past of the asylum. I want you tell them the reason I would've rather killed myself than live with these horrific memories. Memories of only what I've seen been done, but that have been done to me".

  
_But that have been done to me._  Those words haunt Luke. He thought they would have had at least a shred of humanity in them and spare the children from these horrific methods. Eli is right, they really are monsters and Luke owes it to Eli and all the other Asylum patients to truly educate his family on what happened.

  
"Are you ready to be taken back now?" Eli asks and Luke nods.

  
"Yeah I am and I promise I'll tell everything." Luke says "Thank you"

  
"For what?" Eli asks "showing you the brutality of the asylum? I don't really think you should thank me for that. You'll have to live with those memories now. This was such a selfish thing for me to do if anyone should be thanking anyone it should be me thanking you for actually going through with this."

  
"I actually don't think it was selfish and in fact I kind of see telling the patients' stories as a way to like avenge them" Luke says "it was interesting to see everything and I wouldn't say I'm glad to know what happened but at least I can sort of like honour the patients somehow." Luke says.

  
"Well thank you Luke, I'm glad to know Andy raised such an amazing son and seeing you I really regret killing myself. If I would've just told someone, not only could've I have helped beside you but you never would've had to go through this. I'm so sorry Luke" Eli says.

  
"It's fine Grandpa" Luke says and it's kind of odd calling a little kid grandpa but well, that's what he is.

"Bad things happened to you and you couldn't live with the memories. I don't completely understand why you did it but I kind of do. What I saw today was just a fraction of what you went through and I haven't gone through what you did. Anyone would do the same"

  
"Yeah I guess so, thank you Luke. I really don't deserve to call you my grandson" Eli.

  
"Yeah, you do. I know that if you lived you would've been the best grandpa and even not living you still are. You gave me this opportunity to meet you when you could've just left me alone. I know you're always watching over me from wherever you are. You don't have to be alive to be an amazing grandpa" Luke says hugging Eli.

  
"I'll always be watching over you Luke even if you don't really need it with the amazing friends and family that you have, I'll I always be there. Oh yeah and that candy by the way" Eli says gesturing to Luke's pocket where the candy is.

  
"Do you want it back?" Luke asks reaching for it and Eli stops him.

  
"No actually this is gonna sound weird but-" Eli starts but Luke cuts him off.

  
"Weirder than time travel?" Luke asks.

  
"This isn't time travel, this is even more complex but I guess they're both equally weird?" But that isn't candy. It looks like it is and to anyone else it is just candy but not for you. When you unwrap it you'll see that it actually has a button on it and if you press it you can communicate with me whenever you want" Eli says laughing when he notices the confused look on Luke's face " Hey, I told you it was weird"

  
Luke takes the candy out and unwraps it to make sure Eli isn't just joking with him and when he opens it there really is a button.

  
"If you press it now it'll take you back to the present" Eli says motioning to the button "go on press it".  
Luke almost presses it right away but he decides to hug Eli first since he is Luke's grandpa after all and he owes it to him.

  
"Thanks grandpa, I promise I'll talk with you often" Luke says pulling the blonde boy in for a hug and kissing the top his head.

  
When Luke pulls away Eli gives him an encouraging smiles and nods and Luke hesitantly presses the button. As soon as he presses it there's a flash of green and Luke's world is spinning again.  
\---  
Ashton is creeping down a corridor that leads to God only knows where when he swears he sees a shadow behind him. He twists around fast enough to break his neck and shines his flashlight where he saw the shadow, but nothing is there.

  
_It's okay, Ashton there's nothing there_  he tells himself although he knows it probably isn't true. He knows there are ghosts in here, they spoke to one during the seance. He also knows there are other supernatural entities like whatever took Luke.

  
Ashton knows it was Luke's grandfather obviously but just what is Luke's grandfather? The ghosts Ashton had spoken to during the seance didn't appear and disappear with a green light, not that they had actually seen her. Ghosts can't time travel and they stay whatever age they were when they died as a human, they can't change it.  _So what is Eli?_

  
Ashton shakes the thoughts from his mind and continues walking. He has to remain focused.   
He doesn't know what this corridor leads to but eventually doors start showing up on either side and Ashton figures he should check them.

  
He goes in and out of every door not really finding much. All the rooms appear to be singular bedrooms probably for the more dangerous patients. Each room has a creepy vibe as if something is in there, something bad happened there or both but Ashton doesn't see anything so he doesn't think much of it.

  
He probably just feels creeped out because of how the rooms look with the rusty beds and all the rubble and the chipped labels on the doors. At least that's what he tells himself.

  
As Ashton gets closer to the end of the hallway he notices that the doors begin to have two labels, one is numbers like on the other doors but the one underneath appears to be a word. Ashton figures it's probably the name of a patient or the type of room, but they're too chipped to tell.

  
Ashton goes into the first room and automatically regrets it, and he thought the bedrooms were creepy enough.

  
The first room has a bed with leather hanging off each corner and they're old and decaying but Ashton can definitely tell what they were used for. They were straps used to restrain patients to the bed. There's also what appears to be a helmet and it's chipped and there's only one single electrode hanging from it, instead of multiple ones that Ashton can tell it once had from the holes in the helmet. Ashton now knows exactly what this room was used for, shock therapy.

  
As soon as Ashton realizes he feels sick and gets out of the room as soon as possible. He knows staying in there will only make him think about what happened in there and Ashton knows he can't handle that. Besides it's obvious Luke isn't in here and he doesn't want to waste any time.

  
There's quite a few rooms left in the hallway and Ashton knows they'll be like the room he was just in or possibly even worse but he knows he has too keep going. It's been over an hour and a half since Luke disappeared and while Ashton doesn't know if time is the same where Luke is he's still hoping that Luke is finished and that he's back in the present and is looking for Ashton and the other boys.   
The next nine rooms on the left side are just like the one Ashton was in and the rooms across from them on the right are more single bedrooms. It's as if the rooms where the shock therapy was performed were made specifically for the patients who inhabited the rooms across the hall but Ashton doesn't want to think about that.

  
The next room Ashton goes into is one of the last, there's only about ten rooms left of each side and then one at the very end of the hallway.

  
The room is much like the shock therapy ones and has the same type of bed but the equipment is different. There's a chipped surgical drill on the table next to the bed with rusted bits scattered around it. There's also some yellowing tubes and other object Ashton can't quite make out on the table but he knows they cause damage.

  
It takes Ashton a while to realize to what everything is for but when he does he feels like fainting. This room was used for lobotomies and Ashton can tell from the objects that whatever he learned about lobotomies was only a fraction of the true terror they were.

  
Ashton practically runs out of the room almost dropping his flashlight in the process and when he gets into the hallway he lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

  
The last thing Ashton wants to do is go into the last few rooms but he knows he has to, for Luke. He just wishes he decided not to split up with Michael or Calum because he could really use a friend right now.

  
Speaking of Michael and Calum, what kind of things are they seeing? Ashton hopes that what he's seeing is the worst because he doesn't want his friends to go through what he is or even worse. He also hopes they haven't encountered any of the threatening spirits the ghost in the seance told them about. So far Ashton hasn't seen anything, except for the shadow which probably just imagined, and he hopes it stays that way.

  
What kind of things is Luke seeing? Ashton's having enough trouble as it is just seeing the abandoned rooms. Ashton knows since Luke back in the time when the asylum was still in operation that he might even have to see some of the these things being performed, in person. He really hopes Luke isn't because Ashton can't stand the thought of Luke going through that but he knows he most likely is. It makes him upset angry even, not at Luke of course but at his grandfather.

  
What would make him think it's okay to put Luke through that? He knows he probably has a reason but he can't help but be angry. No one hurts Luke even if it's unintentional. It's not that Ashton doesn't think Luke's strong enough to handle it because he knows he is, but he still can't bare the thought of Luke having to go through something like that.

  
Ashton shakes the thoughts from his head because he knows that sooner he finds Luke the sooner they can get out of here and the sooner he can cuddle Luke and help him get through whatever he saw . He knows that Luke is most likely still in the past and won't be in the next few rooms like he's hoping so it doesn't really matter how long he takes but Ashton doesn't care. He'll look the whole hospital over a hundred times or more if that's how long it'll take before he finds Luke. He knows he'll find him but he doesn't know when and he doesn't care how long it takes.

  
It's Luke. Even if it takes days he'll just ask his parents to bring him extra food and water because there's no way he's leaving without Luke. What if Luke came back while Ashton was at home sleeping or something and Luke thought he had abandoned him? Ashton doesn't want Luke to think that for even a second.

  
Ashton shakes the thoughts from his head and tells himself to focus once more before going into the next room. The next room is another bedroom right across the hall from the room the lobotomy equipment was in. The next nine rooms on the right are bedrooms as well and the ones on the right are more lobotomy rooms.

  
It makes Ashton sick but he doesn't have time to ponder on it because right now he has to focus on finding Luke.

  
When he gets to the final room something in his gut tells him not to go in there but he ignores it. He knows it's stupid, especially since he has no weapons or anything but he has to go in. He knows Luke probably won't be in there but he has to at least try and he's kind of curious as to want could be in there and Ashton has never really been one to follow precautions, unless it could result in Luke getting hurt.

  
If there's something dangerous about something then of course he'll want to go in just like a kid would touch the oven after his mum told it was hot. It may have resulted in him getting into some pretty risky situations, especially that time he and Michael hitchhiked back from a party but so far it hasn't actually gotten him hurt or anything. Something tells Ashton, well more like screams at him, that it isn't like those times but he still choses to ignore it.

  
He steadies his shaking hands on the doorknob before twisting it open. As soon as he enters the room it feels cold, even colder than the rest of the Asylum and he can definitely tell he's not alone although he doesn't see anything. Well as far as ghosts at least, the room definitely isn't empty.

  
There are about five beds with straps much like the ones in the lobotomy and shock therapy rooms although they appear to be much stronger. One bed has an old hose attached to it and a moldy cloth on the table next to it. It doesn't take Ashton long to realize it's for water boarding and in fact all the beds seem to be a different torture method.

  
Another bed has a large circular light over it that actually see,s pretty intact that he guesses is for sleep deprivation or something. He doesn't know what type of torture the other three we beds are for but he knows it's something brutal and painful judging by the sharp, rusted weapons and other devices on the tables next to them.

  
Ashton doesn't know why they would do this or how it was allowed but he doesn't have much time to ponder on it before he's being shoved onto one of the beds by some unknown force.

  
He looks up and sees a nurse in a typical 1950s nurses outfit appear and besides the fast she's translucent and pale she looks like normal nurse. It doesn't take Ashton long to realize she's a ghost. She's holding him down with a sinister smile on her face and Ashton's trying his best to get free but he can't.

  
She's really strong probably due to the fact that she's a ghost and Ashton's attempts to push her off fail as he goes right through her.

  
"Stay still, this only hurt a bit" the nurse says in a shrill voice, much like you'd expect from a ghost, before cackling.

  
Her cackles chills Ashton to the bone and he would probably be shivering if he wasn't pressed onto the bed so tightly. He tries to scream in hopes that Calum, Michael or even Luke will hear and come help him but when he opens his mouth nothing comes out as if he's suddenly gone mute.

  
Ashton is close to giving up when he looks at the table with the weapons and sharp objects on it next to him that he knows she'll probably use on him when he realizes something.

  
He remembers from a horror movie he watched that iron repels ghosts and he knows one of the those weapons has to be iron. At least he hopes one is because he's literally betting his life on it.

  
He reaches his hand out to try and grab for a crowbar and he's just out of reach. He mentally curses himself and is about to give up for good this time until he remembers the reason he's here in the first place.

  
_To find Luke_. He can't give up now, he has to survive for Luke. If he gave up now and Luke came back only to realize Ashton is gone for good it would crush him. Ashton's knows it would, if he was in Luke's position and while Luke would probably handle it better than Ashton would he still knows it'll break Luke. He can't put him through that and he won't. Luke has probably seen terrible things and he'll need someone to be there for him when he gets back and that person is going to be Ashton, it has to be. Of course Luke will also have Michael and Calum, as well as his family when they do finally get out of here but Ashton has to be. He has to be there to cuddle Luke and help him get past whatever he saw. He has to be there to help Luke with the nightmares that'll surely come after what he saw.   
Ashton's going to be there for Luke and he's not going to give up so easily and he hates himself for even thinking of it. How he'll do that Ashton isn't sure.

  
If Luke was in this position he'd come up with some elaborate plan to get out of this. All Ashton can think of to reach for the crowbar which may or may not be made of iron, which may or may not be able to repel ghosts, and so far his plan isn't working because he can't fucking reach it. He's so close but so far away at the same time. Then it hits him.

  
He's reaching around the nurse so she can't see him and it's putting his arm at a weird angle but if he reaches through her where it's a direct path to the crowbar he'll probably be able to reach. He might not be able to reach and it might only make her angry but he can always try, he has to at least try. Besides if it does end up working it won't matter if he makes her angry because he'll be able to escape, or at least get off the bed before she reappears again.

  
He takes a deep breath before reaching through the nurse at a speed that would make even Lightning McQueen envious. As soon as his arm goes through her it feels as if he's plunging it into the Arctic Ocean but he ignores because he has to get that crowbar.

  
After a few seconds the nurse realizes Ashton's arm that's through her and she lets out a scream so shrill it shatters the light bulbs on the light over the sleep deprivation bed. Ashton doesn't let her scream stop himself from focusing on getting the crowbar and after a few more seconds his hand finally clenches around it and he feels as if the world has just been lifted off his shoulders. He pulls his arm back through the nurse and when the crowbar touches her she immediately disintegrates with another shrill scream.

  
Knowing he has absolutely know time to waste Ashton gets up quickly making his vision go spotty for a few seconds but he ignores it. He knows it's only a result of getting up to fast and if he stops and waits for it to go back to normal it would only put him in danger.

  
It's gone before he reaches the door and he opens it before sprinting down the hallway, with the crowbar in hand of course as he'll need it if the nurse or any other evil spirits appear. He doesn't exactly know where's he running to maybe to find Michael and Calum or Luke even or maybe even out the door so he can wait off property where's he safe until he thinks enough time has passed for the nurse to either have calmed down or given up on finding him.

  
He's about halfway down the hallway when he hears someone calling his name and before he even has time to register the voice he's throwing the crowbar backwards thinking it's the nurse. When he turns around to see if the crowbar hits the nurse he realizes it isn't the nurse, or any ghost at all for that matter.

  
It's  _Luke_  and he has a look of shock on his face as the crowbar hurtles towards him.  
\---  
Eventually the spinning stops and Luke is back in the main entrance. Except this time it's dark and deserted like it should be and Luke pulls out his flashlight.

  
He has a feeling Ashton Michael and Calum are still at the asylum but he has no idea where.  
He takes out his cell phone but he has no service, as he expected. He hopes his mum isn't freaking out too much about that.He decides to try one of the walkie talkies to see if he can connect with one of them but all he gets is static.

  
Luke has no other option than to look for them on foot and he's actually not scared to be on his own. He figures that any ghosts here would be the ones of the patients and as he learned the patients were just mistreated and it was the doctors that were the true monsters. He figures the ghosts of the patients will be friendly, at least to him because he knows their full story and he can sense that they know that he does.

  
Just because the ghosts won't be aggressive towards Luke he knows that doesn't mean they won't be to his friends and he knows he has to find them quickly before anything bad does happen.   
Luke decides to check the hallway Eli took him in first since that's the only one he knows and if they spilt up to look for him, which Luke knows Ashton convinced them to, one of them will have to be down that hallway since there are only three possible ways to go.

  
To get to that hallway he first has to go through the room with the beds where all the children stayed and when passes through he notices the candles in the circle on the ground and the ouija board and the Doritos in the centre. He'd probably laugh at the Doritos because he knows that was definitely Michael's idea if he wasn't almost certain his friends conducted a seance for him.

  
Don't they know how dangerous they are? His mom told them not to conduct one. There's so many things that could go wrong, from angering the sprits to possession and everything in between. Luke knows that if his friends really did conduct a seance than he really needs to hurry and find them before it's too late.

  
He's goes through the door into the hallway and of course as soon as he steps foot in it the memories come flooding back but he ignores them. He has to find his friends before they get hurt or worse.   
Just like when he went back into the 50s doors start to appear as he walks down the hallways and he quickly checks each room in case someone's in there but he doesn't find anyone.

  
He's about halfway down the hallway and is just coming out of one of the bedrooms when something whizzes past him. At first he thinks it's a ghost but when he looks down the hallway and sees a person with curls bouncing as he runs Luke realizes it isn't a ghost at all.

  
Luke calls his name and sees Ashton throw something but he can't quite make out what it is because it's hurtling towards him at breakneck speed.

  
Luke ducks, at the very last second as whatever Ashton threw just grazes the top of his head as he ducks down before landing with a clang behind him. Luke stays ducked down with his head in his arms for a seconds just to make sure Ashton didn't throw anything else and that's he's safe to sit up.

  
When he finally looks up he notices Ashton looking down at him with sad eyes and he's holding out his hand out for Luke to take.

  
"I hope you know that wasn't intentional" Ashton says.

  
"I'd hope not" Luke giggles and even he's surprised at how genuine it is, as he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to truly laugh for quite a while after what he saw.

  
Luke guesses that just Ashton's presence really can cheer him up after all. He grabs Ashton hand and he doesn't even have enough time to process how good it feels to finally hold Ashton's hand again, even though it hasn't been that long there was point where Luke was starting to think he wouldn't ever be able to again, because he being hoisted up and pulled into Ashton's chest.

  
"Lukey" Ashton cries and he sounds so weak and vulnerable, something that Luke rarely sees in Ashton.

  
"I thought I had lost you, don't ever leave me like that again" Ashton chokes through tears.

  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Luke says letting his tears, that had only started collecting when Ashton started crying, fall as well as he wraps his arms around the older boy "I didn't meant to I didn't know that I'd disappear if I took his hand".

  
"I didn't mean it like that Lukey" Ashton cries "It's not your fault and I'd never blame you. I'm just glad you're okay, thats all that matters".

  
"I'm fine, Ash" Luke reassures.

  
"Are you really though, Lukey?" Ashton asks "The things you must've seen. I mean I can't even handle seeing the empty rooms where they did those things".

  
"Wait -how did you" Luke asks confused.

  
"How did I know?" Ashton asks and Luke nods "well we conducted a seance-"

  
"You shouldn't have done that, don't you know how dangerous they are?" Luke says.

  
"Well it was Michael's idea and nothing bad happened with ours" Ashton shrugs and of course it was Michael's idea, Luke isn't surprised at all " and I knew it was risky but I didn't care if it meant I could get answers about you. You matter more than anything, Lukey"

  
"Ash" Luke says blushing and this time tears are collecting in his eyes for a whole different reason " it's great that you'd do for me and I can't believe you actually would but don't put yourself in danger because of me."

  
"I would've put myself in more danger if I hadn't of known about you and besides our ghost was actually really nice and she gave us good answers as to where you were and I was able to put them together and figure it out. Like when we asked about who the little boy you were with was she told us his name and then I remembered that was your grandfather's name. I figured that the little boy was him and he somehow came back as a little boy and that's why he seemed familiar to you and only you could see him. Then Michael asked about the green light the both of you disappeared in and she said it was time travel and I figured that he took you back in time to when the asylum was still running to show you something." Ashton explains. "Was he a patient here or something?"

  
Ashton is always telling Luke he's the smart one since he does well in school but Ashton is just as intelligent and he needs to give himself for credit for it. Luke knows he wouldn't have been able to figure that out as quickly as Ashton. Luke is shocked that Ashton had remembered his grandfathers name as Luke's pretty sure he only ever told him once.

  
"Yeah both of my grandparents were actually I just never knew until now" Luke says "and I can't believe you actually remembered his name didn't I only tell you once?"

  
"Yeah, but I remember everything about you Lukey" Ashton says.

  
"Ash" Luke says blushing and Luke doesn't know what he ever did to deserve Ashton. "I love you"

  
"I love you too Luke, I love you so fucking much" Ashton says before pressing his lips to Luke's.

  
As soon as Ashton's lips touch his Luke temporarily forgets about everything he had seen that night. The only thing that matters right now is the feeling of Ashton's lips against his and his strong arms around Luke's waist and Luke  _loves_  it.

  
Unfortunately for both of them the kiss doesn't last very long because they're interrupted by a shrill scream and Luke feels Ashton being ripped off him.

  
Luke sees a nurse dressed in the old uniform exactly like the ones Luke had seen when he was back in time. She has Ashton in a choke hold and she's pressing a syringe with God only knows what in it to his neck.

  
Luke remembers the crowbar and grabs it and before he even has time to tell Ashton to duck the nurse shrieks before disappearing.

  
"Well that went better than expected" Luke says.

  
"C'mon let's find Michael and Calum and get out of here before she comes back" Ashton says grabbing Luke's hand and pulling him along.

  
It doesn't take long to find Michael and Calum as they're in the room where all the beds are. The candles have all been collected but the Doritos are still on the ground and Luke is relieved to know even Michael won't even eat Doritos off the floor of an abandoned building.

  
They're both sitting on the ground with their backpacks next to them hugging their arms to their chests and looking sadly into the distance. They look over when the door opens but not very enthusiastically as they're probably just expecting it to be Ashton and they'll have to tell him they were unsuccessful in finding Luke.

  
When they they realize Luke is with Ashton they looked as shocked and excited as a kid who got the number one thing on their wish-list on Christmas morning.

  
"Luke!" They exclaim simultaneously before jumping up and practically tackling Luke almost knocking him over in the process.

  
"Hey! Be careful!" Ashton laughs before joining the hug.

  
He wraps his arms around Luke from behind and kisses the back of his head as he joins making the blonde boy blush redder than Michael's hair.

  
Now their group hug is finally complete and even in the horrific asylum they feel at home.  
\---  
Ashton asks Calum to drive home because he can tell Luke needs him and he knows that even though Calum doesn't have a license he's responsible enough to be trusted with driving.

  
As they walk back to the car Luke's grip on Ashton's hand is tight but Ashton doesn't care because at least he knows Luke is there. Besides if Luke didn't have a death grip on Ashton's hand Ashton knows it would just be the other way around. Ashton can tell Luke's holding back tears but he doesn't ask him about it, when Luke's ready to tell him he will.

  
When they get to the car Michael obviously takes shotgun leaving Ashton and Luke in the back.  
It's silent when they first get in the car much like their walk was but it's not awkward or anything. Ashton, Michael and Calum can tell that Luke doesn't want to talk and any conversation they would make would seem petty and insensitive.

  
Luke is staring blankly out the window and biting his lip to keep from crying when Ashton taps on his shoulder and smiles sadly at him. Luke returns the smile although it doesn't meet his eyes which are glistening with tears.

  
Ashton holds out his arms and Luke practically collapses in them not bothering to stop his tears anymore. Ashton smiles sadly down at Luke and kisses the top of his head and pulls him close, well as close as he can with the seatbelt, and Luke buries his face into Ashton's shoulder.

  
They stay like that for quite a while before Luke pulls away, he's stopped crying now but his voice sounds broken when he speaks.

  
"Sorry about your shirt" Luke says.

  
"Don't apologize Lukey, it doesn't matter, all that matters is that you're okay" Ashton says and maybe that wasn't the best choice of words because Luke bites his lip again but he doesn't cry.

  
"I'm not okay" Luke cries "the things I saw... I just... what you learned in school is nothing compared to what actually happened. And you know the worst part? They fucking did it to children! It happened to my grandpa... he- he was ten".

  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Ashton says.

  
"Sorry for what? It's not your fault" Luke says.

  
"I know but I just wish I could've taken your place or something" Ashton says.

  
"I don't" Luke says "I wouldn't want you to go through this. I'm not mad at him because he had his reasons and I have to tell my family the whole story I just wish- I just wish. I wish that as soon as I tell them I could forget it but I also don't. I feel like it would be disrespectful to the patients to just forget but I also don't want to see those images every night for I don't even know how long, maybe the rest of my life".

  
"I'll be there" Ashton says "I'll be there to help you get through this, you're not alone Lukey, I'll always be there".

  
"We will too Luke" Calum says.

  
"We're all here for you" Michael says.

  
"Thanks guys" Luke says sadly "it means a lot"

  
"You mean a lot to us" Calum says.

  
"Well now you're gonna make me cry for a whole different reason" Luke says.

  
"It's true Lukey, you're like a little brother to us" Michael says.

  
"I object to that" Ashton says making Calum, Michael and even Luke laugh and when he does everyone turns to look at him.

  
"What?" Luke asks "I'm still the same person, I might know more, and they might be good things but I'm still Luke. You don't have to treat me differently or walk on egg shells around me or anything like that, please don't"

  
"We're sorry" Michael says.

  
"Don't apologize either, none of this is your fault and I don't want you to blame yourselves for it." Luke says.

  
"But it's hard knowing you had to go through that and that we can't do anything about it" Calum says.

  
" But you can" Luke says "By treating me like you normally would because I'm not a different person. I've seen things yes and I might not be able to forget about them and they made have changed me in a way but I see it as a good way. Now I truly know what happened to my grandparents. Now I know why my grandpa committed suicide and why my grandma doesn't speak of her past. Now I know what truly happened to all those patients and that they weren't the bad ones, the doctors were. The things I saw may have been disturbing and I know they'll give me nightmares but as long as I have Ashton I'll be fine".

  
"Okay we'll still treat you the same and we love you Luke" Michael says.

  
"I love you guys too" Luke says.

  
"Do you still want us to stay overnight or just Ashton?" Michael asks.

  
"No you can stay" Luke says " When I tell my family tomorrow I want you and Calum to be there because like you said you're like my brothers."

  
"Okay we'll stay but if you want to be alone with Ashton we can always sleep in the basement." Calum says.

  
"No you don't have to" Luke says "in fact do you think we could watch a movie when we get back? Not a horror one or anything but a funny one, like 21 Jump Street"

  
"Anything Channing Tatum I'm down for" Calum says.

  
"Are you saying you'd watch Dear John then?" Ashton asks.

  
"Channing Tatum  _and_  Amanda Seyfried? It's like a double chocolate chip cookie from subway" Calum says.

  
"How?" Ashton asks.

  
"Because it's double the goodness duh" Calum says "how did you graduate high school again? Oh yeah because of Luke".

  
"I'm not the reason he graduated I'm just the reason he did better than barely passing and got into college" Luke says.

  
"Wow Luke, I thought you were gonna say something nice and defend me but no" Ashton says dramatically making Luke giggle.

  
"I think we should watch 22 Jump Street instead just to change things up a little" Michael says.

  
"No!" Luke exclaims in protest.

  
"Wow I never knew you hated that movie so much" Michael says.

  
"I don't it's just there's less Dave Franco in it" Luke says.

  
"I'm glad you chose Dave over Channing" Ashton says "it's good to know my boyfriend isn't attracted to potatoes".

  
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that" Michael quips "Have you looked in a mirror?"

  
"Oh shut up!" Ashton exclaims before laughing and pretty soon Luke, Calum and Michael join.

  
As Luke laughs with his friends he knows he'll definitely be alright.   
\---  
When Calum arrives at Luke's house the living room light is on meaning Liz is most likely still up and waiting for them.

  
"You wanna go in alone at first or?" Calum asks parking the car in the driveway.

  
"No" Luke says "maybe she won't freak out as much with you guys there".

  
"Well if she does it's only because she's worried and you didn't call" Ashton says.

  
"Yeah I know I just- I don't know if she'll believe me" Luke says.

  
"I'm sure she will" Calum says but even he isn't sure if he really means it.

  
"Yeah I guess, let's just go, we don't want to make her even madder" Luke says getting out of the car.  
Luke is lost in his thoughts as he waits for the other boys to get out of the car and when something grabs his hand it startles him and he jumps a little.

  
"It's just me, babe" Ashton says reassuringly rubbing circles onto Luke's hand with his thumb and Luke smiles at him but it doesn't reach his eyes.

  
"What if she doesn't?" Luke asks and Ashton knows right away he's referring to if his mother will believe him or not.

  
"I'm sure she will, Lukey" Ashton says.

  
"But will she?" Luke asks "Would you believe someone if they told you they went time travelling with their grandpa?"

  
"If it was you I would and if she doesn't believe you I always will" Ashton says making Luke blush and bite his lip to contain his smile.

  
"Thank you" Luke says "I just- I love you, Ash"

  
"I love you too, Lukey" Ashton giggles before pressing a kiss to Luke's temple making the blonde boy blush even more.

  
"Okay this is cute and all but let's go inside love birds, it's late and I don't want to stand out here all night" Michael says.

  
"Jeez okay" Ashton giggles pulling Luke along with him.

  
Luke takes a deep breath before pulling his key out of his pocket and unlocking the door.

  
Liz doesn't say anything until Luke goes into the living room where she's drinking tea and reading a book although she doesn't appear to actually be reading it, and it worries Luke.

  
"Sit" She orders pointing to the seat across from her and not even looking up from her book.

  
Luke follows and Ashton, Calum and Michael go to sit down as well but Liz stops them.

  
"Just Luke" she says "we need to talk alone and I think you boys should call your own mothers as well".

  
"Yes okay, sorry Liz" Michael and Calum say at the same time before exiting quickly but Ashton stays behind.

  
"You too Ashton" Liz says not looking at him.

  
"Right, sorry Mrs. Hemmings" Ashton says smiling at Luke sadly, who returns it, before exiting.

  
Once Ashton is gone Liz puts down her book and looks at Luke expectantly.

  
"Please don't be mad at them" Luke says "I can explain".

  
"You better" Liz says sternly "once an hour. All I asked was for you to call me once an hour and you didn't, you could've even texted me. When I found out the others boys hadn't called or responded to any of their mums I couldn't help but worry. Do you know how close we were to going out there and looking for you. In fact if you weren't here within the next fifteen minutes we were going to."

  
"I'm sorry mum, I really am but I have a good reason I swear" Luke says.

  
"It had better be a better reason than that you were out of service, you know you can make emergency calls when you're not in service" Liz says.

  
"I know and I would've called but-" Luke pauses.

  
"But what Luke?" Liz asks.

  
"You'll never believe me" Luke says "but I swear it happened"

  
"I can try, go ahead" Liz says.

  
"Well I kind of um- you know grandpa Eli?" Luke says.

  
"Yes I do but what does he have to do with anything?" Liz asks, somewhat stern and somewhat curious.

  
"Well kind of everything and I'll tell you more tomorrow because I have to tell dad, and Jack and Ben too but you have to believe me, please mum" Luke says.

  
"I will honey, I promise" Liz says her voice softer this time.

  
"That's what you say now" Luke says "can Ashton please come in here? It would be easier with him".

  
"I guess so" Liz says before calling Ashton's name.

  
Not even a second later Ashton comes in as if he was waiting outside the door for his cue, which Luke knows he definitely was, and smiles brightly at Liz.

  
"Hi Mrs. Hemmings, I really like what you've done with this room, did you repaint it or something?" He asks.

  
"Ashton it's been that way for the past five years and you know it. Also try to be less obvious with your eavesdropping next time" Liz says "now sit".

  
"Right okay, sorry Mrs. Hemmings" Ashton says sitting next to Luke and wrapping his arm around the younger boys waist.

  
He doesn't know if it'll annoy Liz or not but right now all he cares about is comforting Luke. Ashton smiles reassuringly at Luke and grabs his hand with the arm that's around Luke's waist and Luke tucks himself into Ashton's side. Ashton doesn't even have to say anything for Luke to know he's telling him he's there for him and that he loves him.

  
"So,what is it you think I won't believe?" Liz says and Luke looks hesitantly at Ashton who smiles as if to say 'go on'.

  
"Well I don't know how to say it really but grandpa Eli was a patient at the hospital and so was grandma-" Luke starts and Liz cuts him off.

  
Luke surely thinks Liz is going to stop him and tell him he's being ridiculous already, and Ashton must too because he squeezes Luke's hand, but she doesn't.

  
"Grandma Winifred?" She asks and Luke nods.

  
"Yeah" Luke says "I know it's hard to believe but-"

  
"I believe you" Liz says reassuringly.

  
"You do?" Luke asks in disbelief.

  
"For now, yes" Liz says "it would make sense as they never really told us about their past, not even how they met".

  
"Okay, well here's where you're not going to believe me and even I have trouble believing it and I was there" Luke says before taking a deep breath and Ashton smiles reassuringly at him.

  
"Honey I'm sure I'll believe you, when have you ever lied to me?" Liz asks.

  
Ashton snorts making Luke glare at him as if to say 'really?'. Ashton responds with a look that says 'I couldn't help it' which of course makes Luke respond with one that says 'well try harder'.

  
"Okay let me rephrase" Liz says "when have you ever lied to me and it was your idea?"

  
"Never" Luke says innocently.

  
"Yeah sure you haven't" Liz teases "seriously though I'll believe you".

  
Luke looks at Ashton who's smiling at him and Luke kind of wants to kiss him right now but his mother is here. Although the more he thinks about it the more it actually sounds kind of hot.  _No focus Luke_ , he tells himself,  _you have to tell her._

  
" Well I kinda time travelled?" Luke says and okay, that was really not how he planned on saying it at all.

  
Luke's heart falls when Liz starts laughing and he feels tears well up in his eyes. Ashton pulls him close and kisses his temple and it kind of helps, actually it really helps, but it still doesn't stop Liz from laughing.

  
"Now tell me the real reason honey" Liz says still laughing.

  
She looks at Luke for the first time since she started laughing and she immediately stops when she sees the tears in Luke's eyes and the way Ashton's holding him protectively.

  
Liz never thought Ashton would have to protect Luke from herself and she immediately feels guilty. Although another part of her feels glad that Luke has Ashton because he's even better for her son than she thought.

  
"Oh honey" Liz says "I'm so sorry, I thought you were kidding, I'm so sorry.

  
"Well I'm not" Luke says his voice cracking from holding his tears "I know it's hard to believe but-"

  
"I believe you" Liz says.

  
"Do you really though?" Luke asks and it hits Liz hard and she's silent for a few seconds.

  
Luke feels the tears the tears rushing back and he bites his lip to try and stop them but it doesn't quite work and a few tears spill. Ashton wipes them away and kisses Luke's temple and he smiles a bit but it falls when he looks at his mother.

  
She doesn't look in disbelief anymore but she looks guilty, and that's a million times worse.

  
"Luke, honey, of course I believe you. It's just shocking and I'm having trouble comprehending how it could happen but I believe you. Now come give your mother a hug" Liz says.

  
"No you come here, Ashton's warm" Luke smiles and it's real this time and in return Liz smiles.

  
"Fine I don't really deserve it though" Liz says getting up and making her way over to Luke.

  
"Of course you do mum" Luke says hugging Liz when she gets to him "I'd find it hard to believe too".

  
"I'm sorry for laughing at you honey" Liz says running her fingers through Luke's hair "and I can't wait for you tell me more tomorrow".

  
"Thanks mum" Luke says "I love you".

  
"I love you too sweetie" Liz says.

  
"I love him more" Ashton jokes.

  
"Oh I wouldn't doubt that" Liz says and it sounds like she's joking but Luke can tell she's being serious deep down.

  
"Mum" Luke says.

  
"It's true" Liz shrugs.

  
"No it's not mum, don't say that" Luke says "you both love me equally".

  
"Well" Ashton says his voice getting increasingly higher.

  
"Oh shut up you" Liz laughs "c'mere".

  
"I don't know, I'm scared" Ashton laughs but joins anyways.

  
"I totally love you more" he whispers in Luke's ear before kissing his cheek making the blonde boy blush.

  
Ashton thinks Luke is kind of the most adorable thing ever especially when he's blushing and he intends to make him do more of that so he kisses him again. It's not long before he's peppering kisses all over Luke's face and neck and Liz pulls away to look at Ashton sternly.

  
"I said you could hug my son, nothing more" Liz says and she's only half joking.

  
"Sorry Mrs. Hemmings" Ashton says "but I can't help it, you created such an amazing son".

  
"That won't work on me Ashton and neither will calling me Mrs. Hemmings" Liz says.

  
"Damn it works with Calum" Ashton whispers to Luke making the blonde boy giggle.

  
"What's so funny?" Liz asks.

  
"Nothing, I was telling him how sorry I am, Elizabeth" Ashton says.

  
"And especially don't call me Elizabeth" Liz says.

  
"Okay sorry Liz" Ashton says.

  
"That's more like it" Liz says and she's about to say something else but she's interrupted by a loud cough.

  
"You know I hate to interrupt the in law bonding time but our mums want us to come home and Ashton is kind of our ride" Michael says.

  
"Okay well I'll let you be free now" Liz says to Ashton "does your mum want you to go home too?"

  
"Well yeah and she wouldn't take no for an answer but I want to be with Luke" Ashton says.

  
"He can go with you" Liz says.

  
"Are you sure?" Ashton asks.

  
"Of course I am" Liz says "I trust you, just bring him back here in time for dinner because I'm going to invite his brothers over so he can tell the whole story".

  
"Okay thank you, Liz" Ashton says hugging her and Luke does as well before going to his to his room to get some stuff.

  
He has everything packed, which isn't much just toiletries, pajamas, clothes for the next day and his phone charger, and is about to walk out his bedroom door when he remembers the candy.

  
He decides to leave it on the nightstand because he doesn't want to accidentally leave it at Ashton's or have Ashton's little brother, Harry, find it and eat it. Luke doesn't even know if it's edible but he doesn't want to find out because he doesn't want to lose it or accidentally kill Ashton's little brother.

  
He looks at it for a few seconds thinking about his grandpa and the power of the candy, at least he thinks it's only a few seconds. He's so focused on it that he doesn't even notice Ashton come in and he startles him, again.

  
"Why are you staring at that piece of candy like it holds all the secrets of the universe?" Ashton asks "I know cherry's your favourite but damn"

  
"Would you believe me if I told you that it's not just a candy to me and that there's a button on it that allows me to speak to my grandpa?" Luke asks.

  
"Of course I would" Ashton says wrapping his arms around Luke from behind and resting his head on his shoulder "and I'd think it's pretty badass".

  
Luke laughs before setting the candy in a safe spot in his nightstand drawer and turning around in Ashton's arms to kiss him.

  
Ashton kisses back and pulls Luke even closer making the blonde boy moan and tangle his fingers in Ashton's hair. Two can play at this game, Luke thinks to himself before tugging on a piece of Ashton's hair making him moan in return and then giggle before pulling away. Luke whines and looks at Ashton expectantly.

  
"As much as I love this Lukey, I came up here to tell you to hurry because Michael and Calum were getting impatient and I'm pretty sure if we don't go soon they'll hijack my car. We can always continue this when we get to my place though" Ashton winks making Luke blush.

  
"Okay let's go then" Luke says.

  
"Wow, someone's eager"'Ashton teases "I should've known that's how I could get you to come, no pun intended".

  
"You're unbelievable" Luke groans.

  
"And you're unbelievably gorgeous" Ashton quips and Luke glares at him and gives him the finger.

  
"Wow that's no way to treat someone who just complimented you, I'm telling your mum" Ashton says.

  
"She won't believe you, she thinks I'm an angel" Luke says.

  
"Doesn't everyone?" Ashton asks.

  
"Can you stop?" Luke says.

  
"Stop what" Ashton asks innocently "Complimenting my amazing boyfriend? I didn't think that was a bad thing."

  
"Well you don't have to be so cheesy when you do it" Luke mumbles.

  
"Don't act like you don't like it" Ashton says kissing Luke quickly but it's interrupted by Michael's screaming.

  
"Ashton! Luke! You have thirty seconds to get down here or we're stealing Ashton's car!" he screams.

  
"I'll race you there" Ashton challenges.

  
"That's not fair, I have a disadvantage with my bag" Luke says.

  
"Fine I'll take it then, weakling" Ashton says grabbing Luke's bag "now stop wasting time".   
\---  
"Shh be quiet" Luke says.

  
They just arrived at Ashton's place and he dropped his keys really loudly.

  
"Well jeez Luke I can't control the volume my keys hit the floor at" Ashton says picking his keys up and setting them on the table "and why does it matter, my mum's up".

  
"Yeah but what about Harry and Lauren?" Luke asks.

  
"Oh those two can sleep through anything, you should know that by now" Ashton replies and okay that sounded kind of wrong and Luke must notice because he blushes.

  
What Ashton was actually referring to was whenever they have sleepovers here and Michael and Calum yell at each other while playing video games.

  
"Where is your mum?" Luke asks once he's finally stopped blushing.

  
"Right here" Anne Marie says coming out of the kitchen "I just had to get the cookies out of the oven".

  
"You made cookies?!" Ashton and Luke exclaim simultaneously.

  
"Now  _that_  I'm surprised Lauren and Harry slept through" Ashton says.

  
"Yes, but save some for the kids" Anne Marie says.

  
"I don't think that's possible mum" Ashton says.

  
"You're gonna make it possible young man" Anne Marie says sternly.

  
"Okay, okay I was kidding mum, you're the best" Ashton says before hugging her.

  
"Uh huh, sure you were" Anne Marie says disbelievingly before hugging back.

  
When she finishes hugging Ashton she turns to Luke and holds her arms out expectantly.

  
"Thank you Anne for making cookies" Luke says.

  
"You're welcome Luke and I'm glad you're both safe but you'll have to tell me why you didn't call and what happened over tea and cookies" Anne Marie says pulling away before going into the kitchen and Luke looks at Ashton worriedly.

  
"We can just make something up" Ashton says grabbing Luke's hand and rubbing comforting circles on it with his thumb.

  
"But I don't like lying to your mum" Luke says.

  
"It's not lying, we're just withholding the truth" Ashton says "you haven't even told your family yet, you should at least tell them first".

  
"Yeah okay, you're right" Luke says.

  
"As always" Ashton retorts kissing Luke's cheek. "Now c'mon let's go, I don't want the tea and cookies to get cold."   
\---  
Ashton came up with an excuse that they didn't have service and even their emergency calls didn't work which probably had something to do with the ghosts. He can tell his mum doesn't really buy it but she doesn't say anything and he'll take that.

  
He's now laying on his bed with a slight stomach ache and he strongly regrets eating so many cookies. Luke ate even more than him and he doesn't even seen to be phased, Ashton wishes he could be like that.

  
"I'm going to have a shower, care to join?" Luke teases rifling through his bag for his pajamas and tolietries.

  
"I'd love to Luke but I'm so full I don't think standing is a very good idea right now, but maybe next time" Ashton winks making Luke blush.

  
"Right, well um, I'm gonna go now" Luke says scampering into the en-suite bathroom and Ashton chuckles because not only did Luke almost trip but he loves the way he can turn Luke into a blushing mess.

  
Once Luke gets into the bathroom he sets all his stuff down and after he does he looks into the mirror and he can't help but hold in a gasp.

  
His hair is a mess and is sticking out in every direction, the circles under his eyes are way darker than he remembered them being the last time he had looked in a mirror and he looks even paler than a ghost. In short he looks like he's seen a ghost, which he kind of did, but it still shocks him.

  
How can Ashton still look gorgeous coming out a place like that and Luke looks like absolute shit? It's not fair. Nothing about Ashton is fair. He's the whole package, he's good looking, athletic, strong (in both senses of the word) , smart, can make friends with anyone and he's just a really nice person in general. Luke doesn't know what Ashton sees in him or why he stays with him and he especially doesn't know why he's so goddamn sweet to him.

  
Speaking of Ashton his voice startles Luke and he almost knocks his toiletry bag into the toilet.

  
"Lukey? You okay?" Ashton calls from the bedroom.

  
"Oh yeah I'm fine I just dropped something" Luke lies.

  
"Oh okay, well you gasped I just wanted to make sure everything was fine" Ashton says and god, Luke really doesn't deserve him at all.

  
"Well I'm fine Ash, you don't have to worry but thank you" Luke says.

  
"It's no problem Lukey, I do it because I love you" Ashton says.

  
"I love you too Ash" Luke says biting his lip to contain his smile and he knows that if he looked in the mirror right now he'd be blushing, which would probably look weird due to how pale he is right now.

  
Luke then remembers the whole point of why he came in the bathroom in the first place, to shower.  
He strips out of his clothes, which aren't sweaty or anything and don't look physically dirty but they feel like it. Like the asylum and it's dark secrets are still attached to them. He shivers although he doesn't know whether it's from the cold of the bathroom or the haunting images from the asylum that are replaying in his mind.

  
He turns on the shower with a shaky hand, they've been doing that a lot this night Luke thinks to himself, and gets it to the right temperature before finally stepping in.

  
When he does the hot water makes him temporarily forget about the asylum and when he scrubs himself it feels as if he's washing away all the memories of it. They're still there and Luke knows they'll never be truly gone but they're less prominent and Luke'll take whatever he can get. It's strange what just a simple hot shower can fix.

  
Once Luke gets out the shower he immediately gets dressed because the bathroom feels even colder now since he was just in the hot shower. His pajamas consist of blue, red and white flannel bottoms, a black t-shirt, some fuzzy socks and a grey hoodie which Luke is pretty sure is Ashton's. He smells it and he know it definitely is Ashton's as it still smells like him even though it's been washed.

  
Luke then quickly brushes his teeth and washes his face before putting his clothes in Ashton's hamper, he knows Anne Marie will just wash them and give them back to him like always when Luke stays at Ashton's.

  
He makes his way back into Ashton's room who is now lying on his side a clutching his stomach.

  
"You okay?" Luke asks.

  
"Oh yeah I'm fine" Ashton says "it's just a small stomach ache".

  
"It doesn't look small" Luke says worriedly before sitting down next to Ashton and running his fingers through Ashton's hair.

  
"Well I might've lied a bit but I'm sure I'll be fine once I go to the bathroom" Ashton says.

  
"Well, then go!" Luke urges "why didn't you go while I was in there? I wouldn't have minded".

  
"That's what you say now" Ashton says "but you'd probably differently think if you smell what's to come and I wouldn't want to put you through that".

  
"Then why didn't you go to another bathroom?" Luke asks.

  
"Because I didn't think I'd be able to make it" Ashton says.

  
"Well go now! Don't make yourself wait any longer" Luke says.

  
Ashton opens his mouth to say something but immediately closes it before running to the bathroom.   
Luke winces as he hears Ashton hurl because he doesn't like to hear him in pain and he's about to go in and help but it stops and the tap starts running.

  
A few minutes later Ashton comes out looking much better than before. Not that he looked ugly or anything but he doesn't have a green tinge to him or anything anymore.

  
"Let's just say that didn't come out the end I was expecting" Ashton says.

  
"You brushed your teeth right?" Luke asks because puke breath is never attractive on anyone, not even Ashton.

  
"Nope and I'm gonna kiss you with puke breath" Ashton teases before tackling Luke making him fall back on the bed.

  
'Whoa careful, you were just sick don't jostle your stomach around" Luke says.

  
"Jostle?" Ashton asks.

  
Ashton puts his hands on either side Luke to hold himself up so he can look into Luke's eyes who was definitely not staring at the way Ashton's muscles flexed as he did so, nope not at all.

  
"It's a word" Luke says.

  
"A weird one" Ashton giggles "and I feel perfectly fine now and I don't think there's anything left to get rid of".

  
"I didn't need the details" Luke groans.

  
"Of course you did" Ashton retorts kissing Luke's cheek "is that my hoodie?"

  
"Yeah it is sorry, you can have it back" Luke says going to take it off but Ashton stops him.

  
"No keep it, it looks better on you" Ashton says making Luke blush "now let's continue what we started at your place and on second thought maybe you won't need that hoodie".

  
Luke can't help but blush before Ashton presses his lips Luke's making him moan and tangle his fingers in Ashton's hair making the older boy chuckle.

  
"What?" Luke asks pulling away slightly.

  
"Oh nothing it's just funny how easily I can turn you on but I like it" Ashton says.

  
"Yeah that's easy for you to say you're not the one who has to go through it" Luke says only making Ashton laugh more.

  
"Stop laughing at me!" Luke exclaims.

  
"I can't help it, you're too adorable" Ashton says making Luke blush.

  
"Stop" Luke pouts and Ashton can't help but kiss him which only makes Luke glare at him.

  
"Well fine if you really want me to stop I guess we can sleep now" Ashton teases.

  
"That's not what I meant and you know it" Luke grumbles which only makes Ashton chuckle.

  
"Ashyyy" Luke whines and okay Ashton really can't resist Luke when he calls him that.

  
He rarely does as it'll only result in incessant teasing from Michael and Calum much like they did when Luke called Ashton 'Irwie' in front of them. Ashton really wishes Luke would call him those names more even if he does get teased by Michael and Calum because he thinks they're adorable much like Luke himself is. Although he also kind of likes the fact Luke only calls him those names in private. If anyone else but Luke called him those name he'd probably be embarrassed but it's  _Luke_.

  
"Okay I'm sorry Luke" Ashton says pressing his lips to Luke's again.

  
They only kiss for about five minutes or so before Luke pulls away yawning and it just might be the cutest thing Ashton has ever seen.

  
"You ready to sleep now?" Ashton asks and Luke nods sleepily.

  
"I'm not  _ready_  to but I should" Luke says and Ashton knows the emphasis on ready isn't because they had to stop kissing.

  
"Okay well get under the covers while I take my clothes off" Ashton says.

  
"That sounded wrong" Luke giggles "and I know what to do Ash, you don't have to tell me".  
"Hey, tone down the sass" Ashton chuckles.

  
"Then tone down the stupid" Luke retorts.

  
"Ouch Luke" Ashton laughs "if you're gonna be so mean to me then you can sleep on the floor".

  
"No I'm sorry" Luke protests "I love you Ashy".

  
"I love you too Lukey" Ashton giggles before pressing his lips to Luke's.

  
When he pulls away Ashton strips his pants and socks off but leaves his tank top on, and his boxers of course. He chucks his clothes into the hamper in the bathroom and is quite impressed with himself when he gets it in, even if he always does.

  
When he turns back around he sees Luke now under the covers and Ashton's hoodie is off and he can now see the t-shirt Luke is wearing and Ashton likes the way the dark of the black contrasts with Luke's pale skin. Luke pouts and looks at Ashton expectantly, which Ashton is sure will the death of him someday.

  
"Are you just going to keep standing there or?" Luke asks and he's trying to sound impatient but he just sounds tired and it's adorable "I'm tired".

  
"I can tell" Ashton giggles before finally making his way over to Luke.

  
He moves the covers to get in creating a slight breeze and Luke groans.

  
"That's cold" he whines.

  
"First you tell me to get in bed and now you're telling me not to because it's too cold, don't be so contradictory Luke" Ashton says.

  
"I didn't tell you not to I just wanted you to hurry because it's cold" Luke says.

  
"I know you've said that, and I guess you'll just have to trust me to keep you warm" Ashton says making Luke blush.

  
"Well the get over here then" Luke says.

  
"Jeez so demanding" Ashton mumbles moving closer to Luke and wrapping his arms around him.

  
Luke sighs in content before turning over in Ashton's arms and resting his head on Ashton's chest. He can hear Ashton's heartbeat and not only is it soothing because of the repetitive rhythm but also because it shows Luke that Ashton is there and nothing happened to him.

  
"Goodnight Lukey" Ashton says kissing Luke's hair which is flat and still damp from his shower and Ashton thinks it's absolutely adorable.

  
"Goodnight Irwie" Luke says burying his face further into Ashton's chest and falling asleep almost instantly.

  
Ashton stays up a bit longer to make sure Luke isn't having any trouble sleeping before falling asleep himself.  
\---  
Luke is back in the hallway of the Asylum with Eli although he's acting different this time, evil almost and he even sounds different. He sounds like a movie villain instead of a sad little kid.

  
"We're here" Eli says sinisterly "go on Luke I'm sure it won't be that bad".

  
Eli's deep voice sends shivers down Luke's spine and he's so focused on getting away from him he forgets to read the sign on the door before he walks in.

  
When he gets in he immediately recognizes it as the shock therapy room but there's something different about it. It feels even more disturbing and eerie than before.

  
"Please don't hurt me" a voice cries making Luke stop dead in his tracks.

  
It sounds just like...but it can't be...can it?

  
Luke has to know so he moves closer to where the bed is and he screams at what he sees. The person in the bed is Ashton after all.

  
He looks directly at Luke like he can actually see him, which Luke knows he probably can, before stretching his hand out and calling Luke's name. He keeps repeating it and eventually he starts asking if Luke is okay which confuses the blonde boy. Why is Ashton asking if Luke is okay, he's the one about to be tortured.

  
Luke becomes even more confused when Ashton starts telling him to wake up and something starts poking him. Luke expects it to be a doctor and he turns around but the doctor disappears. In fact so does everything else but he he can still hear Ashton calling his name and telling him to open his eyes. But his eyes are already open, aren't they?

  
Luke shrugs but tries anyways hoping it'll calm Ashton and when he does he sees eyes looking worriedly into his and he recognizes them instantly.

  
It takes Luke a few seconds to register the fact he's not in the asylum after all but in Ashton's room. Ashton has the light on which is why Luke can see him so clearly and Luke winces a bit when he looks towards the light.

  
"Sorry, I can turn it off. I just needed to see" Ashton says and it takes Luke a few minutes to register what he was saying.

  
When he does he tries to respond but nothing comes out at first when it finally does Luke winces at how weak and pathetic he sounds.

  
"I-it's fine I-I'm used to it now" Luke says and Ashton just nods.

  
It's not until then that Luke truly realizes that Ashton is perfectly fine in front of him and that he must've just been dreaming and when he does he throws himself into Ashton's arms.

  
"Ash" Luke cries pathetically and Ashton wraps his arms around the younger boy and kisses the top of his head.

  
"It's okay Lukey" Ashton reassures "it was just a dream, you'll be okay".

  
"But it wasn't" Luke cries burying his face further into Ashton's chest and inhaling his scent because he needs all he can get to know Ashton is there " it wasn't just a dream, not all of it".

  
"I'm sorry for what you had to go through and I can't even imagine it but I want to help you. Do you think talking about it will?" Ashton asks.

  
"I don't know" Luke says sitting up "and I don't really want to but I should".

  
"Let me know whenever you're ready" Ashton says gently and wraps his arms around Luke and pulls him onto his lap. Luke smiles sadly before wrapping his legs around Ashton's waist and his arms around his shoulders. Ashton's arms are wrapped around Luke's waist supporting him and he removes one for a second to move hair out of Luke's face and even with just one arm he can still support Luke.

  
"I was back in the asylum" Luke says after a few minutes "and I was in the hallways I found you in and he was with me but it wasn't him. It looked like him but it was an evil version of him. And he took me to the shock therapy room except I didn't know what it was until I went in. I was so scared of him that I forgot to read the sign but when I got in there I recognized it instantly and then..."

  
Luke trails off and Ashton gives him an encouraging smile and kisses his forehead and it gives Luke the strength he needs to continue.

  
"They had a patient strapped to the bed and it- it was you" Luke says his voice cracking at the end.

  
"It's okay Lukey I'm here" Ashton reassures.

  
He feels guilty though because he remembers how he almost gave up when the ghost of that nurse was holding him down. He almost left Luke when he needed him the most. How could he be so selfish?

  
"Luke I have to tell you something and I don't think you'll like it" Ashton says and he knows that it won't comfort Luke at all but he can't keep it a secret from him.

  
"Oh um okay" Luke says not really knowing what to expect but he knows it's serious.

  
"You'll probably hate me but-" Ashton starts but Luke cuts him off.

  
"I could never" Luke says.

  
"That's what you say now" Ashton says "but you don't know what I'm about to tell you".

  
"Just tell me, I'm sure it's not that bad" Luke says.

  
"You know how I threw that crowbar at you?" Ashton asks and Luke nods. "Well that's because I didn't think it was you".

  
"Yeah, I figured that" Luke says.

  
"I thought you were a ghost. The ghost of that nurse, she first appeared in this room with a bunch of different torture methods" Ashton says.

  
"The one at the end of the hallway?" Luke asks and Ashton nods.

  
"You went there?" Ashton asks and then he realizes "oh  _oh_. I didn't, I'm sorry. You didn't see anyone did you?"

  
"No I got out before I could" Luke answers.

  
"Good" Ashton says "well not  _good_  but".

  
"I get what you mean" Luke says.

  
"Okay well when I went in that room she held me down on one of the beds. And she was too strong and I couldn't get free and I tried reaching for the crowbar and I couldn't and I...." Ashton trials off.

  
"You what, Ash?" Luke asks "you can tell me".

  
Luke holds Ashton's hand and looks worriedly into Ashton's eyes and Ashton looks away. He can't look Luke in the eyes, not after what he almost did, he doesn't deserve to.

  
"I almost gave up" Ashton says finally "I almost fucking gave up. On everything. I was willing to die Luke and leave you all alone".

  
Ashton feels Luke drop his hand and he bites his lip to stop from crying. Ashton made Luke cry, the one thing he promised himself he'd never do. He wouldn't blame him if Luke hates him.

  
"It's alright to hate me" Ashton says "I would if I were you".

  
"I could never hate you Ash, I love you" Luke says.

  
"Well I don't deserve it, I don't deserve you" Ashton says.

  
"Are you kidding me?" Luke says "if any of us doesn't deserve the other it would be me not deserving you because I don't. You're fucking amazing Ash and everyone makes mistakes".

  
"This isn't just a simple mistake though Luke" Ashton says "I almost left you. For good. Don't be so quick to forgive me".

  
"Why?" Luke says.

  
"Why what?" Ashton asks confused "why shouldn't you be quick to forgive me? Because I don't deserve it, I-"

  
"No" Luke says cutting Ashton off "why didn't you give up? What made you decided to keep fighting?"

  
"Well-I um" Ashton stutters.

  
It was Luke, of course it was Luke, but he doesn't want to say it because it'll only sound like he's trying to kiss up to Luke and ask for his forgiveness. That's not what Ashton is trying to do because he doesn't deserve Luke's forgiveness so quickly.

  
"Ash" Luke says "I know you know the answer, just tell me".

  
"You" Ashton says "It was you. I couldn't leave you but I-"

  
"Don't" Luke cuts Ashton off "Don't say you don't deserve me, you do. You were being held down to a bed in a torture chamber by a ghost. You were shocked and weren't thinking clearly. Don't feel bad about any feelings of hopelessness or wanting to give up that you felt then. Anyone would feel that way in your position and you didn't give up. You didn't give up because you remembered me. That's more than enough to deserve my forgiveness".

  
"I made you cry though Luke, that's the one thing I promised myself I'd never do. I promised you that too" Ashton says after a few minutes.

  
"What do you mean?" Luke asks confused.

  
"When I told you, you bit your lip, like you always do when you're holding back tears" Ashton says making Luke blush.

  
"I can't believe you notice things like that about me" Luke says.

  
"I notice everything about you" Ashton says "but Luke I made you cr-"

  
"No you didn't" Luke cuts Ashton off "not really. It wasn't because you wanted to give up. It was because I was thinking about what would happen if you did, if I had lost you".

  
"See Luke?" Ashton says "this is what I'm talking about. You almost cried just thinking about it, if I had actually..."

  
"But you didn't, you didn't Ash and that's all that matters" Luke says.

  
"I almost did" Ashton says.

  
"And you decided not to when you remembered me. Didn't you?" Luke asks.

  
"Well yeah but-" Ashton starts.

  
"But nothing Ash. You're being to hard on yourself and you're twisting what happened to make yourself look bad" Luke says.

  
"How would you know? You weren't there" Ashton says.

  
"You're right I wasn't" Luke says "but I know you. And I know how you would've acted in that situation. And I know how critical you are of yourself and that you criticize yourself for every little thing that you think is wrong about you."

  
"Luke I-" Ashton starts but Luke cuts him off.

  
"Ash please" Luke says "accept my forgiveness and stop arguing. It's hurting me more than you did by telling you almost gave up."

  
It's the last thing Luke says that hits Ashton hard and makes him realize maybe he should stop arguing. It's clearly only making Luke upset.

  
"Okay I will, fuck, I'm sorry Luke, I'm so fucking sorry" Ashton says.

  
"I know you are" Luke says hugging Ashton and kissing the top of his head "I know you are and I forgive you".

  
They stay that way for a few minutes until Luke yawns and Ashton pulls away.

  
"You wanna try and sleep again?" Ashton asks and Luke nods.

  
"Do you wanna talk more about your nightmare? Because I kind of forgot about that and made everything about me and I'm sorry for that" Ashton says.

  
"No it's fine" Luke says "it helped to distract me and I told you everything about the nightmare. Do you think you could sing to me though?"

  
"Of course, even though I'm terrible" Ashton says.

  
"Terribly amazing" Luke says.

  
"No just terrible" Ashton says.

  
"Well I think you're good and so do Calum and Michael and you know that if they didn't actually think you were they'd let you know" Luke says.

  
"Stop you're making me blush" Ashton giggles.

  
"That was my plan" Luke says.

  
"Damn Luke, when did you get so smooth?" Ashton asks.

  
"Well I had the best teacher" Luke says "ps it was you".

  
"Was it really?" Ashton says faking shock "I thought it was Michael".

  
"Hey he's not that bad, it worked on Calum" Luke says.

  
"Yeah  _Calum_ , Luke" Ashton says.

  
"I guess you do have a point there" Luke says making Ashton chuckle.

  
"So what song do you want me to sing?" Ashton asks laying down and pulling Luke down with him.

  
"You pick" Luke says.

  
"Well come closer then" Ashton says " I don't want anyone else to hear"

  
Luke giggles before scooting even closer to Ashton and resting his head on Ashton's chest.

  
"Okay how about Lifehouse?" Ashton asks wrapping his arms around Luke.

  
"What song?" Luke asks.

  
"How about Everything? Because it sums up how I feel about you" Ashton says.

  
"Do you mean the song Everything? Or are you going to sing me every song Lifehouse has ever made?" Luke jokes.

  
"I would if you wanted me too" Ashton shrugs making Luke blush.

  
"Just sing it already" Luke says hiding his face into Ashton's chest.

  
"Okay" Ashton chuckles "no need to be so demanding".

  
_Find me here,_  
_And speak to me._  
_I want to feel you,_  
_I need to hear you._  
_You are the light,_  
_That's leading me,_  
_To the place,_  
_Where I find peace again_

  
Luke closes his eyes when Ashton begins and sighs in content and Ashton thinks maybe he isn't so bad at singing after all. Or Luke is just sparing his feelings but the first one sounds better.

  
_Would you tell me,_  
_How could it be,_  
_Any better than this_

  
When Ashton finally finishes Luke is sound asleep again and he waits up again to make sure Luke is fine before falling asleep.  
\---  
It's now the next day, the morning to be exact and Luke is sprawled out on Ashton's bed and is waiting for him to have a shower so they can go.

  
They just finished having breakfast with Ashton's family and Luke always likes it because Ashton's siblings are adorable and Ashton is so cute with them. He's so protective over them just like he is with Luke, or even Calum and Michael. It's things like this that make Luke realize Ashton really does love him, Luke doesn't know why, but he's grateful.

  
Luke had three more nightmares that night, one of Ashton in the lobotomy room, one of what would've happened to him if he hadn't escaped from the ghost nurse and one of Ashton getting possessed during the seance. They all freaked Luke out and the last one even made him hesitant of Ashton for a few minutes but as soon as he realized that Ashton was with him and that he was completely okay Luke was able to calm down. And he was able to fall asleep with Ashton singing to him again, the Songs he picked being If I'm James Dean You're Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping With Sirens, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran and even Wonderwall by Oasis. Luke laughed at the last one and called Ashton a 'sappy piece of shit' but it helped him to fall asleep he didn't have any more nightmares after so Ashton figures he must not have hated it that much.

  
Luke knows that when he goes back to his place he'll have to tell his family the whole story and he's kind of terrified. Not only is he scared that they won't believe him but he's worried he won't physically be able to tell them. Ashton tells him not to worry about it though and he'll help him get through it since he knows most of what happened either from what Luke has told him or he can just infer based off what he knows. He knows the general idea of what happened and he can help Luke tell the full details.

  
"You ready to go?" Ashton asks coming out of the bathroom.

  
He's wearing a black tank top, with black skinny jeans and converse. Luke quite likes it when Ashton wears all black because it goes nicely with his tan and he especially likes it when Ashton wears tank tops because they show off his muscles.

  
"I've been ready 87 years" Luke says making Ashton giggle.

  
"Okay well let's go then, we don't want to keep Michael and Calum waiting" Ashton says.

  
They're meeting Michael and Calum and going to see a movie before getting lunch and then wandering, and by wandering they mean reeking havoc, around the mall the movie theatre is located in. They normally do this every Saturday and Ashton, Calum and Michael all agreed they should still do it since Luke wants things to go back to normal.

  
"Yeah you're right we don't want to face their wrath" Luke laughs before grabbing his bag and following Ashton out the door.

  
When they get to Michael's place both he and Calum are there which isn't surprising but Luke and Ashton are still thankful for because they're already running kind of late since they got stuck in traffic. They won't miss the movie or anything but they might not be able to get the best seats ,which are in the middle of the very back row, and it's a popular movie so they wanted to get there really early.

  
"Hello, Ashton, Lucas" Michael says obnoxiously getting into the backseat with Calum right behind him.

  
"Why are you talking like that?" Luke asks.

  
"To piss you off" Michael retorts making Luke roll his eyes.

  
Ashton can't help but laugh because he's glad that things are back to normal and Luke joins to happy to be with his friends and not have anything be awkward or have them fuss over him. Michael and Calum join too although they're not sure why exactly, they're just glad to see Luke happy.  
\---  
Later that night Luke is laying with his head on Ashton's chest and they're supposed to be watching 21 Jump Street but neither of them are paying attention and are reflecting on the day.

  
When they went back to Luke's after hanging out with Michael and Calum, which definitely didn't result in them almost getting kicked out the mall because Michael decided to take fudge samples from a chocolate store and run with them, Ben, Jack and Jack's girlfriend Celeste were already waiting for them at the house.

  
Luke was able to tell the whole story before dinner which was fortunate because he was able to eat all his dinner and even get seconds because he wasn't nervous anymore.

  
It was hard and Luke definitely paused a lot and even cried a bit but with Ashton helping him along the way he was able to get through it. Luke could tell his family had trouble comprehending what happened, which is understandable, but they all told him they believed him and hugged him after.  
Jack asked to see the candy to see if he was able to see the button on it and it turns out both he and Ben can see it. Jack decided they're going to conduct a schedule of who gets it and when. Luke wasn't upset by it because he knows his brothers deserve to talk to their grandpa as well especially since they knew him when he was still alive. They might not have been very old but they still have distant memories of him. Andy was also able to see the button as he was Eli's son and Liz was a little upset that she couldn't. To which Jack said was because she 'didn't have the right blood' in a Dracula voice. Jack was quite shocked when that didn't cheer her up.

  
In summary the day went way better than Luke expected and he hopes the night can as well and he won't have as many nightmares as he did the previous night. Although he knows that he'll get through them if he has Ashton with him.

  
"I'm so proud of you Lukey, you did so well today" Ashton says snapping Luke out if his thoughts.

  
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you" Luke says making Ashton blush.

  
"Are you even watching the movie?" Ashton asks.

  
"No" Luke laughs "are you?"

  
"Does it look like I am?" Ashton retorts. "How about we go to bed then" Ashton says.

  
"At nine-thirty on a Saturday night? I'm offended I thought you knew me better than this" Luke says.

  
"Well you didn't get much sleep last night and based off the fact you yawned like fifteen times since the movie started I'd say you're tired and just don't want to admit it" Ashton says.

  
Luke goes to protest but is interrupted by a yawn which makes Ashton laugh.

  
"It's only because you mentioned yawning" Luke says.

  
"Mhmm sure" Ashton says disbelievingly and Luke yawns.

  
"Well maybe I'm a little tired" Luke admits.

  
"I think you're a lottle tired" Ashton says making Luke give him a 'wtf face'.

  
"Okay even my sleep deprived brain can recognize that that was a terrible joke" Luke says making Ashton laugh.

  
"I'm disappointed in myself for that one to be honest, Lukey" Ashton says.

  
"You should be" Luke retorts and Ashton chuckles before reaching for the remote and turning the TV off.

  
"Where are you I can't see" Luke says reaching out and trying to find Ashton in the dark.

  
"Right here, Lukey" Ashton says wrapping his arms around Luke "I'll always be here".

  
"Can you stop being so cheesy?" Luke groans rolling over in Ashton's arms so his head is now on Ashton's chest.

  
"Never" Ashton retorts.

  
"Goodnight Irwie" Luke says sleepily and yawning halfway through. "I love you".

  
"I love you too Luke" Ashton says "I always will and I know you'll most likely have nightmares for a while and you probably will for a long time but I'll be always be here to help you with them, and anything else you may need help with."

  
Ashton expects Luke to groan and tell him he's being too cheesy again but he doesn't say anything and he realizes Luke has fallen asleep. Ashton hopes Luke feel asleep so quickly due to the fact he was exhausted and with Ashton where he's most comfortable and not because Ashton bored him. That's what Ashton's going to tell himself regardless if it's true or not.

  
"Goodnight Lukey" Ashton says smiling fondly at Luke and pressing a kiss to the blonde boy's hair.

  
Ashton swears he sees Luke smile for a second and he thinks maybe he isn't really fully asleep after all and is just pretending to be. Ashton wouldn't put it past him.

  
Ashton stays up for about half an hour to make sure Luke actually does fully fall asleep and he doesn't have any issues with sleeping.

  
It's gets to the point where he can't keep his eyes open any longer and he falls asleep content and happy to know Luke is safe and sleeping soundly in his arms. 


End file.
